Winding down a month in Italy and one note...

I find that Italy more so than the other countries that I have visited in Europe prefer cash. I, actually do take some Euros with me to Europe, and then withdrawal significantly more euros once in country.

Interesting... We visit Italy in May. This is our second trip but in the planning processes, I found that for a few activities we've planned, people asked to be paid in cash when the activity takes place. I didn't find that last time. However, the pricing was good and that's worth it. Maybe the credit card fees have jumped and made people more aware of how much they really are. Maybe they want to avoid the taxman. Maybe after doing so many refunds due to COVID, they just don't want to deal with it. I've structured higher cash usage into our travels. If restaurants are more reluctant to take cards, too, I'll have to take that into consideration.

Asking for 30% more for making traceable payments reaks of them not paying taxes on the cash payment.

I've been taking notes from the 2020 edition of Fodor's "Italy" and have noticed quite a few bacari/cafes in Venice that are cash-only. I figured it was because credit-card fees would be really painful if a lot of folks were bar-hopping and buying just one cicchetto and one tiny glass of wine at each stop. Perhaps there's more going on than that.

An interesting report and graph... Remember that Italy's economy is the 4th largest in Europe (including UK, as this report if form 2019), and it has about half the GPD of the largest, Germany.

https://www.statista.com/chart/17133/tax-evasion-cost-to-eu-countries/

so glad I just read this! It is a surprise to me. We will be spending a month in Italy in July. I'm disappointed that I will need to always carry a lot of cash. Especially since there's a fee every time you take money out. Glad to have found this out in advance.

Kerry, I have a Capitol One 360 checking account basically just for travel that I use for ATM withdrawal. No fees and I love that.

Hi Travelmom,

Can you explain a bit more about your Capital One checking account? I assume you sign up for it online, make a large cash deposit, and the pull out Euros at any ATM in Italy without incurring any fees or interest (as it is a checking account and not a credit card.) I've never heard of this but this sounds like a great idea. Any additional info you could provide would be much appreciated as I don't want to travel with a ton of cash either.

Travelmom, I forgot to ask whether you can use the Capital One credit card at any ATM or are there only specific locations affiliated with Capital One from which you can withdraw euros?

Here's a link for Capital One:

https://www.capitalone.com/bank/checking-accounts/online-checking-account/?externalid=360BMMSEM71700000084658431GOOGLE5870000714971263043700064283592675&06136SE000908AlwaysOn=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwgYSTBhDKARIsAB8Kukt2CX6DAC3yJmvXTU1CdnoiYwWET54okw4Be5XLnIlzOXdKMxB3-IaAhJsEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I primarily use the ATM card from my credit union, but I set up a second account at Capital One so I'd have a back-up. It has worked fine on the occasions I've needed to use it. I think you'll find it very easy to transfer money from your current account to Capital One. I'd expect the card to work in virtually any ATM, but my usage has been so limited I cannot speak from much experience.

I will warn you that some ATMs in Europe charge fees of their own. I see that the Capital One website refers to "70,000+ fee-free ATMs", but I can't find any details on the website. I have no idea whether any of those ATMs are in Europe. The old account language (about 7 years ago) said Capital One would refund any fees charged by an ATM; my credit union still has that policy. I never put Capital One, or the Credit Union, to the test. I just walked around, trying ATMs until I found one that didn't charge fees--though that seems to be harder to do every year.

Still, whatever the situation with fees charged by ATMs, you'll be well ahead with a Capital One card that doesn't charge fees of its own, if your current card does assess fees.

Thanks for the link and additional information. I will probably give Capitol One a try.

On our ten-week trip last fall, we found many more places took CC than in the past, even in Italy. Sure, the coffee bars want cash for small purposes, but never was a CC turned down at any evening meal. I do have problems with my Visa and MC in Trenitalia machines so I use my AMEX there. We do pay via EFT (Wise is the best, very low cost) for apartments in which we have long stays.

While I use my Cap One MC a lot, we got a Charles Schwab checking account (although we never use checks) in 2010 before our first trip and it is now our primary banking relationship. No fees anywhere on the planet. All ATM fees reimbursed.

OH gees, really?? I was planning to tap my way through Europe. Damnnnnn......

Laurel, does this mean that with your Charles Schwab debit card you are able to withdraw money from any ATM without incurring any fees?

I just setup a Capital One 360 checking account specifically for the debit card. Well, that and I can get half-price coffees at the Capital One Cafe by my work. I've been happy with my Costco Citibank Visa on many trips but wanted a card for ATM transactions that didn't have a cash advance fee and was separated from my usual bank. I researched the Capital One affiliated ATMs and I couldn't find any in Europe. If I make it to a branch before my trip, I'll see if I can get a list.

I haven’t checked the Capital One website, but we have used our Capital One 360 debit card in the UK and throughout Italy at any bank-affiliated ATM ….never an issue, never any fees. We transferred funds from our “brick and mortar” checking account into the 360 account online as needed during our trips.

I take two ATM cards when I travel and a credit card. I try the Capitol One ATM card, first, and I haven’t had it turned down, yet, for working at a European ATM in France or Italy. I did have to reactivate that card recently when I double-checked it for my upcoming trip. I hadn’t used it since my 2019 trip.

SamA, which cities in Italy did you visit? I will be in Milan, Stresa, Bergamo, Cremona, Parma, Mantova, Venice, Pisa, Perugia & Spello and fly back from Rome.

Any other differences from previous trips that would apply to these locations?

Do I remember correctly from a different post that you stayed at the Hilton at the Rome airport? Where did you get your Covid test to return?

I sent Patrick a message before reading all the other replies - but I use my Cap One 360 (checking account) debit card everywhere. I like that it only has my travel cash in it but that it is easy to add more from my regular checking if I need it (takes a day or 2 to transfer). Most times I just use it upon arrival for cash, but I am currently in Jordan where almost everything is cash AND there is an ATM transaction limit (maybe a daily limit?) imposed by Jordan. That means I have used it 3 times (and will be using it several more times) already with no fee appearing - not even the one that the machine tells me I am agreeing to. I have used it for years but this trip is a good test. And I have always just use the ATM machine that is where I am when I need to use one….. In the States, I have only used it twice. The app locates the nearest free ATM - and for me they have been in places like Allsups gas stations.

My Cap One cc, on the other hand, is getting less useful.

I've always used my Capital One debit card with a Capital One checking account that is reserved for travel use. I've also got a Capital One money market savings account which transfers money easily and quickly between the 2 accounts. These are separate from my main checking and savings accounts at another institution. I also transfer money easily between my main institution and Capital One. I only place money in the Capital One checking account before travel and after the trip is complete I transfer all of what's left to the money market account. I'd rather have it earn meager savings than nothing at all. I've never had any trouble finding no-fee ATM's in Europe which usually are those affiliated with banks. You may need to make multiple withdrawals due to transaction limits which normally isn't an issue. My partner and I both have backup debit cards for other credit union accounts where we keep small balances. No one would be able to deplete our main accounts.

"Laurel, does this mean that with your Charles Schwab debit card you are able to withdraw money from any ATM without incurring any fees?"

You can withdraw cash from any ATM in the world without incurring any fees with the Schwab debit card. Any ATM fees get refunded to your account. We've used ours on three trips to Italy and have never had a problem or been charged a fee that was not refunded.

You need to open an account a Schwab to get one but the accounts have no minimum balances and charge no fees. You can open an account online. Here is a link for .more info.

https://www.schwab.com/checking

One additional note: we've booked a wine tour for this weekend and just had a note from our guide saying many of the vineyards do not take credit cards for purchases. And it looks like you need PayPal in order to ship wine home. (We're in Spello currently.)

I find that Italy is accepting credit cards more, but it still lags behind other countries. Carry cash and look for ATMs that give you the option to select bill size. 50€ bills are generally not accepted for anything under 30€, and often, that's what you get most of the time with larger withdrawals.

Not only do they prefer cash, but the smallest bills (coins) possible. I keep my 1€ coins separate (for the pay toilets!), since if you pull out any change -- let's say 20,50€ for a 2,50€ bill, they will grab them out of your hand and give you back the 20€ bill! Ditto for my 5€ bills for hotel tips, etc.

I have to say, having spent quite a bit of time in Italy, pre-pandemic, credit card useage has never been a problem EXCEPT for taxis - they have the POS machines in their cars and when push comes to shove they miraculously appear as in showing a €50 note for the fare - nothing smaller - NOPE.

I, too, have had the experience of shop personnel seeing coins in my possession and wanting them rather than the slightly larger note I was hoping to break. It has happened a lot more frequently to me in Italy than in other countries. I don't know why Italy, in particular, never seems to have enough coins. It reminds me of the pre-euro days when Italian shops sometimes gave sticks of gum as change. (That is not a joke.)

Acraven, the change situation in Italy is nuts. The advent of self-check out stations in some grocery stores was a boon in about 2015 or 2016 both for changing bills without a cassa giving you stink-eye and in being a place you could rid yourself of the myriad one-and-two cent pieces weighing down the purse.

When asked for exact change, I often did as other locals and learned to hold out my change in my palm so the cassa could choose. LOL! I will say, Italians can count and make change unlike many I have encountered in the US.