Hi All,
I'll be traveling to the Azores later this summer and I was wondering about using US magnetic strip ATM cards to access cash. I had no problem with my card last year in Lisbon, but I've had some people tell me that I need a chip-embedded card to access cash in the Azores. Does anyone have info on this?
Posted by
Rhode Island, USA
471 posts
I have never had a problem using a bank issued card (magnetic strip without a chip) to access cash anywhere in the Azores over the past 24 years. I have never used a credit card to get cash, only a bank card.
The only possible issue is when you want to access the atm. Once, around 7:30 am I tried 3 times and could not get cash. I called my bank. The issue was the time difference of the Azores to the east coast, as the bank updates their system around 3:30 am. They told me when it would be available, and sure enough, I was all set!
Posted by
Houston
3517 posts
There are special ATMs in the Azores that require a chip card, but that is not all of them. These are "Visa Pay" branded and should be easy to identify.
Your regular Debit card should work without issue in all the other ATMs. Note I stated DEBIT card, not an ATM only card. That means it should have either the Visa or MasterCard logo on it. Other ATM only cards may work, but no guarantee.