Problem with Plastic in Europe

Dig back through some of the prior postings and also under the Money, ATM site. It is an old problem and has been discussed forever. Yes, there can be a problem but doesn't appear to affect most ATMs.

I was notified only recently of this problem by my credit union but have had no problems with ATMs at all when I was in Italy recently. Obviously my cards are not US issued but until recently had not heard of this problem nor encountered problems when using my cards overseas.

Neither my daughter nor I had any problems with the 5 or 6 ATM and charge cards we used throughout Italy during the month of July.

I read that article as well, and it specifically said you will have no problems using ATM machines. The problems occur when you are trying to make point-of-sale purchases at place like restaurants, supermarkets, and Gas Stations. As long as you stick to ATM machines you will have no problems.

Thank you all for your prompt replies and I am sure relieved that my spending ways won't be burdened by carrying cash.

Happy trails.

DiDi

We were just in Italy. We had our credit card declined by one gas station. And he said he thought it was on his end as he was having "trouble all day"... Otherwise we used two cards extensively and had no issues.

We don't use ATMs. (I know - we are old fashioned...)

The poster below is a little misleading saying you will have NO problems with ATMs. We were in Italy in June, and had the following problem. We were staying near a small town, Bolsena. We were low on gas; and when we tried to fill up, the machine in the self-serve station (no attendant) rejected our cc. Also low on cash, we proceeded into town to get some. Neither of the two banks would take any of our 3 ATM cards. I happened to notice a local try, unsuccessfully, and he went off muttering imprecations in Italian. A bit later we almost lost our Amex card in another service station machine. Eventually we did get both gas and cash. When we discussed this with our hostess, she told us that such experiences were common and that the best plan was never to let either gas or cash get seriously low. It's a bit like that other travel advice about not passing up a good bathroom.

The comments above square with my experience earlier this summer in both Italy and France. No trouble at ATMs or restaurants but plenty at self-serve gas stations. If you are driving, I would carry a spare 50 Euros in cash to be sure you can refuel. Otherwise, we had no troubles.

Some ATMs can be trouble for different reasons and those have been amply discussed here.

We've been in Italy since August 1. Had no problems in Rome with atm's or charging then went to Sorrento which was a nightmare. We couldn't find an atm anywhere that would accept any of our four cards. Repeated call to credit card companies in the US were no help. Their advice was to go into the bank and get money that way. No problems so far in Siena. Good luck!

Wow, Francis - you had ATM trouble in Sorrento? My husband and I will be there for 3 nights in October and will need to access our cash that way so I'm a little worried. Anyone else had this same issue in Sorrento? Maybe we need to "cash up " in Capri (will be there the previous 2 days) before travelling to Sorrento? Also, I've only used my bank ATM, never my credit cards for getting cash so if you HAVE to go to bank, what do you give them?

Just returned from Italy and had no problems with cards at ATM or making purchases. Used Capital one cards ( no extra fee for their use) , American Express and a AAA cash card.