Heads Up: Portugal ATM cash withdrawal tips/warnings

Thanks for the reminder. We are headed there in September

I appreciate you sharing this information, don't get me wrong. I do have to ask why people don't simply get a debit card that works on all ATMs worldwide with no fees? (They are automatically reimbursed)

Over the years I have watched countless posts and strategies, desperate searches for an "in network" ATM, and a lot of worry about which machine to use. All of this is eliminated with the right travel debit card.

I use my Charles Schwab debit card when I travel. It eliminates all of these worries. A side benefit is that I keep my travel savings in this account so I always know what I have available to spend and it doesn't disappear into other projects.

I would like a second opinion on this posting. Some information is contrary to prior experiences and I would like confirmation of the changes.

I appreciate you sharing this information, don't get me wrong. I do have to ask why people don't simply get a debit card that works on all ATMs worldwide with no fees? (They are automatically reimbursed)

Years ago I set up an account for travel that reimbursed fees, but I don’t I think this is really necessary now. On my 3 post-covid trips, I have needed very little cash and have only needed to withdraw cash once at the beginning of my trip. These days, I wouldn’t bother to set up a new bank account just to save a few dollars in transaction fees.

In Portugal, if you have a choice, sure, use a Multibanco Machine over a Euronet Machine.

Multibanco is an ATM consortium, so to speak, that the banks participate in to provide ATM services, some 27 banks participate in it. If you go looking for a "bank" ATM as so many obsessively look for, you probably will not find one, the banks use Multibanco. There may or may not be a fee for using a Multibanco, can't recall, but it should only be a few euro.

There are many ATM machines all over Portugal with a sign of Euronet, Avoid them like a plague, They not only have huge fees, they also give you very bad FX rate (having to pay total of 22 euro to withdraw 100 Euro is not uncommon)

As for Euronet, they are a private ATM network that provides ATM services to place in businesses or as a convenience. You will certainly be charged a fee. You can initiate a transaction, if the fee is higher than you can stomach, cancel the transaction.

I do disagree with the OP on the "very bad FX rate" that only applies if you accept DCC, if you decline DCC, even at a Euronet ATM, you will get the usual 1% or less FX that your network charges. ATM transactions do not have FX rates other than what your card's network charges.

If you are in dire need of cash and Euronet is the only machine around, you likely will not pay any more, or much more than a Multibanco machine.

The good news is, if you have a good no FTF credit card with contactless capability, you can "tap" your way through Portugal needing only to hit the ATM once or twice. At that point, fees of a few euros are simply nits in a much bigger picture.

An important point about the Multibanco network of ATMs, is that, as the OP stated, they are not owned by the banks that house them. I confirmed this when my trusty Schwab debit card was declined and eaten (nothing to do with the ATM) by a Multibanco ATM.

When I went in to the bank, they confirmed that they do not own the connected ATMs and cannot open them. And even if a Multibanco person were to come in, they would not be able to give my card back, as it was declined by my bank, not by the ATM itself, which just follows instructions from the issuing bank.

Fortunately, I was in Lisbon long enough that Schwab was able to DHS a new card to me at my hotel.

Funny aside, once when requesting an international wire, a UK bank representative asked me who Charles Schwab was and why I was wiring my money to his account ;-)

When I went in to the bank, they confirmed that they do not own the connected ATMs and cannot open them.

I think this points out a fault in the logic of insisting people use "Bank ATMs" only, not only Mulitibanco in Portugal, but Bancomat in Italy, and most ATM systems Europe wide, Banks utilize a third party most times to maintain ATMs, or at the best have a separate division that maintains them. Going inside the bank may at best yield a phone number to call, in a rare case, most likely with a small bank or remote branch, you might be able to get a card back, but not likely, and probably not immediately.

Your best bet? First and foremost, have a backup, another account or a spouses card connected to the same account. Second, call your bank and report the card as lost, and see if you can have a new one sent, if needed.

Paul,
Suggestion to use ATM inside bank branches applies all over the world.

The fact that in Portugal banks do not own ATM machines are irrelevant

Why inside?

Minor reason: privacy (both putting cash away and pin entry)

Major reason: Inside machine less likely to be fished with card reader (not impossible but less likely)

This is the advice given by Rick Steves himself in one of his blog on this topic with exactly the same reason mentioned as above.
(We are on RS forum platform)

Euronet fees and other experiences are well documented on this forum TA and reddit. Just avoid them. There are plenty Multibanco ATM.

Carol,

Have been using Charles Schwab for ages - since they introduced it -

But they only reimburse ATM fees which is only couple of bucks any way

If you lookup their FAQ, they clearly stresses (in fact they created two separate FAQ points) that they will not reimburse any DCC or FX related charges

Based on dozens of reports on various forums, I reiterate that Euronet is much worse (significant worse) than Multibanco.

Frank,

If you specify what information you find contrary, may be someone on forum can clarify/confirm.

I found RS Portugal Forum extremely helpful and without information gained here, I might have been stumped by repeated questions of the machine or worse, might have used Euronet machine at the airport!!

Summary:
1. Need for cash is decreasing but is not nonzero. In our experience, we were asked for it by one Tour operator, one intercity transfer taxi, couple of small shops and of course coins at some restrooms. We also used cash for small tips when appropriate. (Fully knowing that Portugal does not have US style tip culture)

1. ATM fees reimbursement cards takes care of actual ATM fees, not other ripoffs/legal scams. (Even Multibanco option works best ONLY if you make sure to reject TWICE)

2. What is unusual about Portugal is that it asks DCC type question TWICE using slightly different wordings I found that need of second question and that too using different wordings sleezy Business practice

@kenny D. I was only talking about ATM fees which is really the only issue for anyone who knows never to use Direct currency conversion.

Using Multibanco and carefully rejecting two differently worded questions, you get no ATM fees from those machines

Most people who have traveled a bit know about DCC but way Portugal ATM handles it, can stump some people.

Just google reditt, TA and you will see how many people got bad experiences with Euronet ATM.

I could not find Multibanco in arrival area at LIS. Whatever I found was Euronet.

The point of the whole post was not about ATM fees or declining DCC but how to go about accomplishing that.

1. Use Multibanco and avoid Euronet
2. Decline/Reject TWICE.

We have separate travel accounts that are in each of our names, not joint. That way if a card is compromised, our main account with bills etc is not affected. This has worked well for us for years.

I avoid the Euronet machines after an incident at the Copenhagen airport. We withdrew cash at one of those machines, and just tucked it into our wallet and did not think twice. That night at dinner, we were at a cash only place and when we paid, the owner told us that we had a mix of currency from Sweden, Denmark, as well as Iceland. We pulled it all out and looked, sure enough that Euronet machine gave us a mishmash. Upon arrival at home, I called our bank, USAA, just to give them a heads up about the machine, and because the currency exchange differences they actually reimbursed us for the difference. I was shocked, but very pleased of course. So now no matter where I get money, I make sure it is from the proper country.

Bumping this up as per recent communication

Regarding this:

I appreciate you sharing this information, don't get me wrong. I do have to ask why people don't simply get a debit card that works on all ATMs worldwide with no fees? (They are automatically reimbursed)

In the Netherlands I used my Schwab debit card at one of those Euronet ATMs (couldn't find any other). Schwab didn't cover the added exchange rate costs and I did decline only one of the questions. It was rather confusing.

I really appreciate the details of this post. Thank you!

Ytravel: Regarding your comment of:

"In the Netherlands I used my Schwab debit card at one of those Euronet ATMs (couldn't find any other). Schwab didn't cover the added exchange rate costs and I did decline only one of the questions. It was rather confusing."

Schwab covers ATM fees as a convenience to their customers as one should never have to pay a fee to withdraw their own money. They cannot do anything about the bad exchange rate of dynamic currency conversion. And, yes, it often takes TWO steps to decline, After you say NO to that offer of how many dollars it will cost, you then often also get a question like "if you don't do this we cannot guarantee your rate, do you wish to proceed", hedged in different formats so that it may be either a yes or a no that then lets you do the withdrawal as normal in Euro (pr other local currency)

I am currently traveling through Spain and Portugal. This is my second visit to both countries and my experience in Portugal this time is less favorable than my first visit in 2018. Tourism appears to have made Portugal greedy.

I didn't encounter DCC at all in Spain. DCC is wide spread in Portugal with both debit and credit card transactions and is especially worse in Lagos (Algarve) where the merchants (retrail stores and restaurants/bars, but not supermarkets) do not even give you the choice to reject DCC or show you the terminal and charge you in USD with hefty conversion fee.

After being bitten by this twice in Lagos, I have started explicitly and firmly asking to be charged in Euros before tapping the credit card. So far it's worked. But it still leaves a very bad impression of the country.

Has anyone successfully disputed DCC transactions with credit card for not allowing customer to reject the conversion?

Pam

@pam - our experience last year was the opposite. With the exception of one Spar store in Tomar that automatically charged in USD we were always charged in Euros or given the option of Euros or Dollars..

"Has anyone successfully disputed DCC transactions with credit card for not allowing customer to reject the conversion?"

I do not see how this could be questioned with the card company when the cardholder approved the transaction and you received what you paid for.

Larry: regarding your comment to me...

"Schwab covers ATM fees as a convenience to their customers as one should never have to pay a fee to withdraw their own money. They cannot do anything about the bad exchange rate of dynamic currency conversion. And, yes, it often takes TWO steps to decline, After you say NO to that offer of how many dollars it will cost, you then often also get a question like "if you don't do this we cannot guarantee your rate, do you wish to proceed", hedged in different formats so that it may be either a yes or a no that then lets you do the withdrawal as normal in Euro (pr other local currency)"

You'll notice in the post, I said I was confused, I blew it and so had to pay the DCC. My bad. I learned the hard way. No need for you to say it AGAIN in the post. I'm not sure why it was necessary to say it again.

I am usually good with traveling and ATM machine choices.
And when we traveled to France and Austria last year it was so enjoyable to use applepay from my watch. I had to force myself to use euros.
But posts like this have made me decide to buy euros in advance which I am sure will last me on 3 weeks in Portugal
The bank added about 5% to the conversion rate.
But I don’t need to stress about finding the correct atm, concern about card being eaten by machine or scammed with the reader.
Must be age!

But I don’t need to stress about finding the correct atm, concern about card being eaten by machine or scammed with the reader.

Most all of that is hogwash. There is no "correct ATM", any ATM works, Yes, there may a fee for use, but you are maybe using an ATM once or twice. Getting cards "eaten" rarely happens, and most ATMs are going contactless anyway, which eliminates "skimmers" which are basically not a thing in Europe due to other security measures. DCC is easily avoided, just pay attention to the questions, choose euros, decline conversion.

but travel has a layer of stress added. when you visit someplace for the first time. I plan my trips down to using google maps viewing the atm I may use. there are glitches. I like things to go as smooth as possible. and I am a go with the flow kind of guy. "when in Rome do as the Romans do." everyone has there own travel style. I always think about pick pockets. so I travel alert and defensively. I have read some places only take cash in Portugal. so I am prepared. I leave in a week and I am looking forward to my visit. hogwash it probably is Paul.

Thanks for the specific ATMs to look for, I will be there at the end of May.

We are in Portugal now. We have a regional bank ATM card. We tried to use it Thursday at several MB ATM machines. It would not process our request for money. We called our bank. The bank said it was not showing a request from any ATM. we tried again with the person at the bank on the phone. Still, our bank never showed any request. We wound up having to take money out using a credit card 😡. Just a heads up, if you have an ATM card from a local or regional bank you should check with them before you leave to see if there would be a problem. Our bank said it did not recognize the request because it technically wasn’t coming from a bank.

grmurphy,

Can you be more specific about your bank?
I have never heard of the problem you are having. While there are ways to best minimize your costs at ATMs, it sounds like your bank does not even participate in overseas cash dispersal.

Regards,
Dennis

Better question -- Were you using a credit union? I am not sure what a regional bank is. The key is --- what network are using. The two big ones -- PLUS and CIRRUS - will work worldwide. If you have a credit or debit card on either network, it should work unless there is an error in the ATM or your account. Other networks can be hit or miss.

Is your ATM card pure old style ATM card or is it a debit card (usually with business or master card logo)?

By the way, I have run onto exactly same challenge as you in certain large countries where us bank does not even see the transaction request.

Grmurphy, it could be a systems issue with the MB ATMs. We couldn't get our ATM Wells Fargo card to work in Evora, yet the credit union card did work. We had a problem at a Europcar office in Lisbon where it kept rejecting our AMEX. We contacted AMEX and was told that there were no attempts on our card. Europcar kept saying the card was a problem and AMEX continued to say that there was no issue with the card. We always have several ATM cards, one from our credit union and one from a major bank (as well as several credit cards of each type)

It was strictly an ATM card. A couple of days later in a different town we tried again. Same result.

By regional bank it is a small bank that only operates in two states.

Our ATM card has always worked in other European countries.

I can co-sign (confirm) grmurphy issue. I'm currently in Portugal, and none of the multibanco ATMs works with my Credit Union ATM card. No issue while I was in Panama.

Pure ATM that is not a Visa or MasterCard debit card may not work with MB Multibanco machines even though it may have worked elsewhere.

Charles Schwab and Fidelity ATM fee reimbursement cards definitely works (but they will not reimburse DCC fees obviously)

Best luck

Hi all...
I am in Portugal and am here longterm and I have a US card mastercard that worked like a charm in multibanco until last week. Suddenly it gave me the Operation is not available ,please try again later. 3 days of no withdrawal .

Called my bank and was trouble shooting. I did transactions at merchants contactless abd with chip .success. tried euro net as last resort...no problem. They saw no attempts for my withdrawal. Talked with a multibanco representative and they kept saying it's my card. How so ? I just used it and the chip is fine. I feel at at loss right now and my bank said my card is functioning properly the issue is multibanco. Of course my Portuguese card works fine.

Unfortunately multibanco isn't always working and I met another person with a non EU issued card with the same issue. Banks here cannot help as they are separate.

Another thing.. 2 yrs ago I could only use ATM but the same card was denied in all merchants. I traveled to Spain then Germany and used my card with no problem with merchants so the issue is Portugal. Beware. I'm here and encountering a big issue with no access other than international transfers to Portuguese account or Euro net. Message is Operation not available. Plz try later.

Addition:

It is a Mastercard Debit card. Worked in past. Have heard there was an update made in multibanco and affecting non EU cards. Something to do with card recognition?!

I am adding to this thread as it was very helpful to me! We just got back from Portugal. When we travel, we bring a visa card that doesn't have foreign transaction fees for charges and our credit union debit card for cash withdrawals. The debit card is branded Mastercard, but it's controlled by the credit union--the number on the back is the credit union's number and there isn't a MC 800 number provided. I like to use mostly cash, we make a lot of small purchases and I don't like to track all the credit card charges. The debit card has worked without fail for cash advances in France and Greece (in Greece last year, a local transaction fee was now part of the deal but it was just a few dollars and wasn't tied to the amount withdrawn).

When we arrived in Porto, the first ATM I tried (I always use ATMs outside of banks and knew to use Multibanco ATMs) worked and we got some cash. It turns out I was incredibly lucky. The next time, a different ATM didn't work, so I went back to the original, and it worked. The time after that, I wasn't near that ATM and I tried a few and none worked. I could get to the transaction screen, but when I put in the amount I wanted to withdraw, it said there was a problem and I couldn't proceed. So I went back to the original ATM but it wasn't functioning. Now I started to worry as it seemed that it wasn't going to be easy to get more money out. We tried a few more machines and finally got one to work, so both my husband and I took out funds on our separate cards. The bank location didn't matter, the same bank had the ATM that did work for us also had a number of ATMs that did not.

We then went to Lisbon, I couldn't find a machine that worked for us and I found this thread. I was thankful to understand the issue, but I still needed to take out more money. So I took out a cash advance on the visa and paid the account off right away, but was hit with big transaction fees. Grrrr.

If we return to Portugal, and I would like to do so, I will probably bring Euros along, or figure out which visa card (we were carrying two) would bring the smaller fees.

Multi Banco is now working got $$$.

"I could not find Multibanco in arrival area at LIS. Whatever I found was Euronet."

The Euronet machines occupy the most obvious locations but there is a Multibanco located in Arrivals behind the Starbucks.

Such useful info!!! Thanks so much. In Porto know and B of A does not have a partner.

Happy travels!

Jo

I live in Europe, but I still bank in the US. 90% of my purchases and expenses are with a credit or debit card, 10% with cash drawn from an ATM. I generally end up receiving cash equivelent to the average of the posted sell and buy rates and I am good with that.

First, DCC; that is so obvious that it shouldnt even be part of the discussion any longer.

Second the Bank Machines generally have lower fees and many US banks reimburses those.

Thrid, and this will ruffle some feathers, there is a place for EuroNet. When you discover that the guide wants to be paid in cash and your choice is to drag him around town looking for a bank ATM, that time being part of your tour time; or just bite the bullet and use the EuroNet machine right next to you. Deal with the fact that the tour, instead of costing $250 will now cost $253 and move on. Its not the end of the world and nothing so bad that it affects any part of your holiday. And do thank EuroNet for being there when the banks werent.

there is a place for EuroNet

I agree. I do not get the hate for Euronet (A US firm, based in Kansas). They provide a service, machines are all over, especially places travelers go.

An ATM withdrawal from your account costs no more, other than a fee, than any other ATM, and that ATM also likely charges a fee. If a 3 euro fee is that troublesome too you, then seek out a bank (Charles Schwab or Capital One to mention two) that reimburse ATM fees. In todays world of using an ATM once or twice in a trip now (as opposed to daily or more ten or 15 years ago) fees are almost a non-issue.

Yes you will need to decline DCC, reject any offers to check your balance, but even an unsure traveler can figure it out. Don't waste your vacation time trying to find the "right" ATM, it just is not worth the effort.

Paul, now you and I will both be strung up for financial heresy.

I’m in Portugal now. It seems like there is a Multibanco ATM on every block. No problem at all finding them whenever you need one.

I'm in Lisbon right now. I haven't used an ATM since I had 10€ from a previuos vacation, but I noticed that it is the same when paying with a card.

I have a double card (i.e. both debit and credit). If I use contactless, the debit card is used and it doesn't ask me about DCC. If I put the card into the slot reader, I can decide for myself - but I still have to reject twice.

We were recently in Portugal (5/21 - 5/29) and then in Spain through 6/7 and noted significant differences between the two countries at their ATMs. We usually try to use the ATMs attached to banks rather than the free-standing ones when we travel as exchange rates and fees are usually better. We always use the debit card from our credit union (it gives us a break on foreign transaction fees.) This debit card has been used without issues in Italy, France, Germany and Iceland but Portugal was a whole nother story!

We could always sign-in....we never were rejected because it didn't recognize our sign-in. Sometimes we could get Euros, other times the cheerful little green screen icon would just dance around and tell us that it wasn't available right now. (I think it was mocking us.) My husband thought the ATM was just out of money.....but then we went to a bank next door and had the same problem. Finally, our third day in Lisbon we successfully withdrew cash and then later again in Obidos. We were always limited to 200 Euros even though the menu made it look like we could request more. (The limit wasn't coming from our credit union because we have a $500 daily limit.) Once we got to Porto we had the same problem...tried a couple of different banks....nothing worked.

We arrived in Spain after 5pm and used the ATM next to a Santander bank (one of the banks we had tried unsuccessfully in Porto) bank and no problems! We used an ATM later on in Spain and again no issue. But I think I see a pattern....

When we had problems at the ATMs in Portugal it was after 5pm! We usually tend to use ATM's after hours when traveling. We check into our place, go for a stroll, get a gelato and get some cash at the ATM if we need it - and this is typically after 5pm. This after hours thing hasn't been a problem for us in other countries and wasn't a problem in Spain but it seems to be a peculiarity of the Portuguese banking network at least for people with "foreign" ATM cards.

My advice...if you are traveling direct to Portugal get a few more Euros from your home bank than you might otherwise because you may not be able to get them in Portugal when it is convenient for you.

Happy Travels!

Good Day!

I thought I would share recent information from Lisbon this past Monday where I had a layover in terminal 1.

There is not a MB ATM inside the terminal as some have stated. I had a 8 hour layover and looked just about everywhere and asked multiple staff. There is one if you exit but then you would need to be re-screened by security and the line was very significant.

Regarding credit card use with Apple Pay. The DCC questions are inconsistent. Some require just one rejection of conversion to dollars and some have a 2nd question that does not reference dollars in any way. But has accept conversion in the text. Most places it went well with rejecting the conversion. However, it was Starbucks that got me with the 2nd tricky conversion question. Glad I learned my lesson with a 10 euro transaction as I’ll be back in Lisbon later with much more significant transactions.

Also a weird thing is some merchants ask for a signature even though I used Apple Pay and some don’t. It’s quite inconsistent not sure why.

Happy Travels!

By now, everybody should know you need to reject the offer of Dynamic Conversion when using the ATM card. But what's not well known is that when you use a credit card at a restaurant, you may also be offered Dynamic Conversion.

At one restaurant, I was given the terminal by the waiter and went through the process myself. I rejected the Dynamic Conversion offer. At another restaurant, the waitress brought the credit card terminal to the table but when I took out the credit card, she took it from my hand and punched the keys for me. I think she was trying to be helpful or just to speed things up, but she accepted the Dynamic Conversion (I am not sure if there was an ulterior motive on her part or if she was simply choosing Yes to every screen prompt), which ended up costing me a little more money. It was not a lot of money for me to make a fuss over, but I just want to make everybody aware -- when paying by credit card at a restaurant, make sure you go through the process yourself instead of letting the waitress do it. On the flip side, none of the restaurant asked me or even gave me an option to leave a tip on the credit card, so even if I had to pay the extra on DCC, it's still less than dining at a US restaurant.

You eed to watch for offers to pay in dollars any time you use a card. I've received DCC prompts in museums and supermarkets in multiple countries in addition to many hotels and restaurants, and a friend got taken by a store in Venice two years ago.

I don't know how widespread the issue is in Portugal specifically, because I haven't been there in ages.

I went to an ATM in Turin Italy in a big mall, and withdrew 100 EU. But no cash came out. I ended up getting my card back and leaving. Then I checked my account, and indeed, they had withdrawn 100 EU from my account but not given me anything. I called my bank in the US, and told them, and they gave me a credit for the entire amount.

It seems Lisbon airport does have MB (multibanco) ATM machine (so that one can avoid Euronet machines like a plague).

Can someone who has used recently describe where it is located post customs?

After passing through customs turn left and walk toward the Starbucks. Just before the Starbucks the Multibanco is to the left against the wall.

Thanks everyone for the useful information and discussion.

Scott,
Thanks for the detailed directions to MB ATM at airport

Those Euronet machines are best avoided.

Thanks for the helpful info everyone. I am taking my first trip to Portugal in October.