I recently read on another forum that lots of Americans have had problems using their debit cards in Portugal. Since that is always the way I get virtually all of my euros on a trip, this obviously makes me very anxious...
Has anyone had experiences recently - success or problems - with using their debit cards in Portugal?
Posted by
Rhode Island, USA
472 posts
One issue I had was back in October. I tried getting some Euros around 8am Azores time zone (4 am EST) and the machine would not accept the transaction. I tried 3 times with the same results. I called my bank in the USA and they said to wait until 8:30am Azores time zone because that is the normal time (3:30-4:30 am EST) they do some maintenance in the ATM "system". Sure enough at 8:31 I was able to withdraw euros.
Another time, on a different trip to mainland Portugal, the outside bank ATM would not give me euros so I went to the inside one and got them there with no problem. There are ATM machines everywhere, so you may have some kinks to work out depending on which bank affiliated one you try to use. In the end you should have no major issues withdrawing euros.
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
I am not American, but the issue I have had is that some ATMs there only have Portuguese text and trying to work out what you want can be confusing!
Posted by
Used to be Steilacoom, now it’s Las Vegas
2186 posts
We were in Lisbon last week and didn't have any trouble using our ATM/debit card to get Euros. We stick to the rule to use ATMs that are attached to banks.
Posted by
2 posts
I am currently in Lisbon. Multibanco ATMs are everywhere, and give the option of instructions in English. I was at first confused by the space for 6 digits, but you can put in 4 digits and press continue.
Posted by
OP
Tulsa, OK
355 posts
We arrived in Porto yesterday and I had no problem with the ATM at the airport - even after 20 plus hours of travel. I did receive confirmation from one of the apartments I'm renting that Portuguese machines will only dispense 200 euros at a time. But I was able to use one of my cards twice in rapid succession to obtain 200 euros each time.
My anxiety seems to have been unfounded 😊
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
Thanks for the follow up.
When I was there in September 2002 (remember, the euro as a paper currency was still "new" then), the machines would only dispense €200 at a time. Until this was explained, I thought I was doing something wrong; in other countries, I take out much more without difficulty. I thought the limit had been raised since then - guess not.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
If you can't find a way to convert the ATM screen to English, then I would bet that the next ATM is not too far away. Thinking of all the mysterious ways that web sites (for instance) offer their language choices, you might see tiny flags, or the word "language," or even the word "portugues" could be a toggle for other choices.
Rick's Portuguese Phrasebook includes these verbs on p. 18: anular = cancel, corrigir = correct, and continuar = continue.