"Tap" to Use ATM Machines in Italy

I have not seen this.

I have seen ApplePay at stores, so this kind of functionality is available. I would not be surprised if there are some ATMs with it ... but don’t count on it in any particular circumstance.

I happen to use Bank of America (not requesting a referendum on that Too Big To Fail bank, either) and they have at least three generations of ATM machines in use just in Manhattan, New York City. The capabilities and interfaces are different at each, and very annoying. You might get to choose bill size at one, and not at the others, for example.

Because you are going to have better things to do than search a strange city for an ATM with the capabilities you seek, I suggest that you assume that this newer technology will NOT be available to you. I was in Italy just last September, but I didn't look at the ATMs I used to see if they had special sensors. You're going to have a hard enough time finding a machine that looks trustworthy, doesn't have a line, takes your card, doesn't go over your daily limit, and works properly. (Not slamming Italy.)

Seems a lot easier to put your card in and type in your pin. Works every time at every ATM I've used wherever I've been in the world.

This is a capability only available to Wells account holders at Wells ATMs. You can't do that at any other bank's ATMs in the US, why would you think it would be offered to non account holders in Europe at European bank owned ATMs?

This option, while cool and handy to some, totally bypasses the entire ATM network. Many banks offer specific functionality at their ATMs for their customers that won't or can't work for others using the machine. This is one that will be years in process if it is ever adopted for use by non customers of other banks. Look how long it took US banks to add chips to their cards (and they didn't even really do that correctly!) I doubt this ever will be.

I'm not sure I understand all of the underlying sarcasm and snarkiness in some of the responses I've received.

"Seems a lot easier to put your card in and type in your pin. Works every time at every ATM I've used wherever I've been in the world."

I'm not concerned with ease of use. By using my phone and authorizing with my thumbprint, I'm affording myself a much more secure transaction with minimal (if any) security risk (also I don't risk having my card "eaten" by a machine).

"This is a capability only available to Wells account holders at Wells ATMs. You can't do that at any other bank's ATMs in the US, why would you think it would be offered to non account holders in Europe at European bank owned ATMs?"

Sorry, I did not know that this was a function only available to Wells Fargo customers at a Wells Fargo machine (hence my question). I know that Bank of America offers that same functionality at some of their machines, but I've never had an opportunity to test. I don't know why the transaction wouldn't happen like every other ApplePay or similar transaction I've ever done (and I've used ApplePay multiple times in Europe, most recently in Paris and Barcelona).

If this functionality doesn't exist in Italy for non-customers then so be it, I'll just use my ATM card like I always have, but it would certainly be nice, and safer, if it did exist.

Fineco (an Italian bank) customers can enjoy that functionality only at Fineco/Unicredit ATMs, I guess the other banks follow the same path.

@clemson91, it looks as though a number of banks in Italy have enabled Apple Pay (Apple keeps a running list of banks here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/ht206637 and a running list of businesses here: https://www.apple.com/apple-pay/where-to-use/)

I know this isn't exactly what you asked, but presumably there are two transactions going on - Wells Fargo to Apple Pay, Apple Pay to whatever bank's ATM you try to use. If the last leg of that loop is closed by having these kinds of Apple Pay enabled ATMs, then the first leg should in theory work, too.

I would check the Carrefour Banca, UniCredit, Allianz Prima, Banco Mediolanum websites to see if/where they have Apple Pay-enabled ATMs.

When I use one of these ATM's, I hold my phone up to the reader, select the proper card and authorize with my thumbprint (this also works with an Apple watch). Once the authorization is complete the machine asks for my PIN number and we proceed with an otherwise normal ATM transaction.

Has anyone seen or used this type of functionality at ATM's in Italy?

I'm really interested to to know....please do report back after your trip and do let us know if this worked for your situation.

I would check the Carrefour Banca, UniCredit, Allianz Prima, Banco Mediolanum websites to see if/where they have Apple Pay-enabled ATMs.

I would think that as long as the ATM supports contactless transaction...you'll be able to use your Apple device regardless if it's got the Apple Pay symbol or Apple Pay-enabled. No?

I would think that as long as the ATM supports contactless transaction...you'll be able to use your Apple device regardless if it's got the Apple Pay symbol or Apple Pay-enabled. No?

knhellesky, I would tend to agree...the ATM shouldn't need to make any reference to ApplePay (the ones in the U.S. that I referenced don't) but it would need to support a contactless transaction.

also I don't risk having my card "eaten" by a machine

When was the last time an ATM "ate" your card? In the 30 years I've used an ATM, all over the world, not once has my card been "eaten". In fact, not once has anything gone wrong. Security wise, hide your pin when entering and you'll have nothing else to worry about.

The fellow in front of me at an ATM in Venice last year had his card retained, or eaten, by the machine.
He could see employees inside the bank (it was just closed for lunch); but they would not even look at him ,let alone come and speak to him.
He had no other card, but his daughter was with him and had hers.
So yes, it does happen.

No sarcasm or snark was meant by my earlier posting. Apologies if it came across that way. I had not had my morning coffee at that point.

Wells also offers other options to get cash at their ATMs without using your actual card that work only for their customers. I'm sure many other banks offer options just as unique for their own customers as well for many things beyond getting cash, checking balances, and other traditional ATM transactions. At this time I am not aware of any that work cross bank companies due to the uniqueness of those functions when compared to the standard functions the now 50+ year old ATM networks allow for when talking from one bank to another. (I have had jobs in the banking industry specifically working with ATMs and their networks for most of my careers so I know a bit about how it all works.)

The thing with the Apple Pay type of access to cash is the ATM has to be equipped with a tap pay reader. Most are not. Second, the connection between Apple Pay and the bank's internal network that talks to the ATM has to be designed to do that. Most are not. To the traditional ATM network, the Apple Pay request for cash is only half a transaction -- the message to the ATM to request a PIN to confirm the transaction.

While not having to dig out a card to perform this transaction has its benefits, including eliminating the possibility of the card info getting captured by crooks who may have attached skimmers to the ATM, I think most banks are going to be hesitant to add this option due to the additional technology resources required.

The list of banks supporting Apple Pay is only which cards are useable with the app, it has nothing to do with them allowing Apple Pay to do any transactions directly at those banks or their ATMs.

"I would think that as long as the ATM supports contactless transaction...you'll be able to use your Apple device regardless if it's got the Apple Pay symbol or Apple Pay-enabled."

I use "Tap" quite frequently for day-to-day transactions here, and theoretically any POS terminal that's setup for tap should also work for Apple Pay even if they don't specifically advertise AP as they both use NFC to communicate. However, I've found in practice that's not always the case and some transactions won't work with AP but will work with the card. If the merchant has an Apple Pay sign on the door, the transactions usually work.

With travels in Europe, I've found that some countries are a bit behind and aren't yet set up for AP. I've also found that even in other locations in Canada, some merchants are a bit behind and aren't yet set up for tap transactions. This is especially true in restaurants as they maintain that there's no way to include the gratuity with tap transactions. That's a fallacy, as most places I deal with here have their POS terminals configured for the tip details to be entered before the tap card (or AP) is used.

At this point, I've never seen any ATM's that operate with contactless technology (although they may certainly exist in some places).

That is a new one for me, but these days I almost never use cash at all in the UK and France, so I only look at an ATM every few months. It is all contactless and Apple Pay for me. I realized last night that my pocket has had the same three coins in it for months and I was thinking what I can do with them (haven't found an answer yet). Even the snack machine in our work rest area has gone contactless now.

But so far as using a phone to get money from an ATM, where you take out your phone and use it at the side of a building rather than putting in a card, I wouldn't do it. I would have thought that the very remote chance of a machine retaining a card is very much lower on the risk register than using my phone. Phones are much more valuable and much more obvious to your low level ambient thief.

realized last night that my pocket has had the same three coins in it for months

I hope that's not your trouser pocket Nigel 😷

When was the last time an ATM "ate" your card? In the 30 years I've used an ATM, all over the world, not once has my card been "eaten". In fact, not once has anything gone wrong. Security wise, hide your pin when entering and you'll have nothing else to worry about.

This is most certainly NOT the case that you have nothing to worry about. One of the primary reasons for the tap and pay system was that small almost not noticeable card readers that attach to the slot at atm's and copy your card info are rampant all over the world including right here in the US. These tiny easy to make devices copy your card info put it in memory and the bad guy comes along and retrieves it reads the info and uses your card number to make purchases.

Using your card Is Not Secure. The tap and pay system is VERY secure.

These tiny easy to make devices copy your card info put it in memory and the bad guy comes along and retrieves it reads the info and uses your card number to make purchases.

These devices require your pin to work, that pin cannot be obtained by these devices, they rely on a small camera or person nearby to record the pin being entered hence the advice to hide your pin when entering it.

They also cannot record the security number on the back of your card therefore making the possession of the card number alone quite redundant. Purchases cannot be made online or over the phone without this security number.

About 10 years ago, I had my card eaten by the machine on a Sunday evening in a small town in Germany. Never figured out why, as it worked in the same machine the next day when they retrieved it for me. I've avoided transactions outside of business hours since.

These devices require your pin to work, that pin cannot be obtained by these devices, they rely on a small camera or person nearby to record the pin being entered hence the advice to hide your pin when entering it

Unfortunately this is not accurate, Here from the TODAY website:

"All over the country, cases are popping up of crooks installing "skimmers" on ATMs and getting your debit and credit card information. And now they're also using a new device to get your PIN number as you type it."

And this: From Credit cards.com

"How bluesnarfing works: Fraudsters insert a skimming device on the outside or inside of a gasoline pump, ATM or payment terminal and then use Bluetooth technology to intercept your credit or debit card information during the payment transaction.

How bluesnarfing differs from traditional skimming: Instead of placing a skimmer at a gas pump and later retrieving that device with the stolen card data, crooks using Bluetooth can sit 100 yards away and the credit card information is transmitted to their laptop. "

Now you can bet your entire bank account that if the theives didnt profit from this by using your number they wouldnt do it. Donn't be fooled. It works. I have personally known two people who have had their bank accounts nearly emptied and CC balance run up by this very scheme.

In the US since a PIN is not required on almost all cards when making a purchase, all the crook needs is the info from the magnetic stripe -- even if the card has a chip. It is actually very easy for someone with card manufacturing equipment to take the mag stripe info off a chip card and produce a working mag stripe card without the chip and use it until the fraud detection systems catch up with them.

You can 'skim' the details from a contactless card easier than using a device attached to an ATM however the fear of such crimes is greater than the reality. You can minimise your risk but you'll never eradicate it and this remains true of any crime.

Using my phone and then trying to verify my thumbprint (it's difficult enough with my phone at times) is more hassle than it's worth especially when considering the low prospect of my debit card being 'skimmed'.

Keeping a sense of proportion is the key point.

Just a follow-up as I just returned from Italy.

Turns out that I didn't even need to use an ATM machine in Italy. I left home with €200 in cash and returned home with €91 in cash. Only used the cash to pay for some taxis and a couple of random gelato stops. Otherwise, everywhere else we ate or purchased items from accepted credit cards (most contactless) which allowed me to just pay for purchases with my Apple Watch (this also alleviated the need for a signature as the payment was verified by my device).

I did take a minute to look at a few ATM machines but none appeared to have the contactless technology.

Just a follow-up as I just returned from Italy.

Turns out that I didn't even need to use an ATM machine in Italy. I left home with €200 in cash and returned home with €91 in cash. Only used the cash to pay for some taxis and a couple of random gelato stops. Otherwise, everywhere else we ate or purchased items from accepted credit cards (most contactless) which allowed me to just pay for purchases with my Apple Watch (this also alleviated the need for a signature as the payment was verified by my device).

I did take a minute to look at a few ATM machines but none appeared to have the contactless technology.

Good to know! Hope you had a great time.

We just returned from Italy a week ago and used ATM's exclusively for all of our expenses including B& B and a hotel in Florence (discounts for cash). We always use an actual bank ATM where we actually use the card to "enter" the secured room with ATM. No random street or shop ATM's. No one lingering behind you waiting for you to finish transactions. Also allows you to put your cash in secure location before reentering the street.

I can definitely see how cards can get eaten. In each of our 10 withdrawals (between hubby and myself), the screen says you have 30 seconds to remove card, 30 seconds to remove cash. So if you wait for your money and count it, very likely your card will be "eaten". Once we find an ATM we are comfortable with, secure, menu is clear, we tend to repeat additional withdrawals while in same location.

Every machine offered an English menu, but getting to the English menu was not always in English.

yep the ATM can eat your card. Happened to my husband somewhere in Europe on a business trip. Can't remember where it was now.