Fee-free ATMs in Barcelona

My experience is that fees and exchange rates at Spanish ATMs are broadly profiteering level. If there's a way to get your euros elsewhere, I recommend doing so.

I haven't been to Spain recently, but when I was there in 2019 there were some banks that didn't charge ATM fees as well as some that did. If you do a bit of Googling, you may find a reasonably current blog or TripAdvisor post that identifies banks with no fees or lower fees. However, the broad trend I've observed in Europe is for more and more ATMs to assess fees as time goes on. It seems I have a harder time avoiding them just about every year--though I don't visit the same countries every year, so it's hard to draw a strong conclusion.

If you do a bit of Googling, you may find a reasonably current blog or TripAdvisor post that identifies banks with no fees or lower fees.

A recent Google review (one of the most recent, anyway) said that Santander didn't charge a fee, so < shrug >.

Thanks for the feedback. With Capital One's 1% markup my total cost was in the order of 5% so it was a little painful but not usurious.
If I had used my own bank (as it turns out, it's the US subsidiary of Santander Bank - which is of no benefit in Europe) it would have cost me about $7 more for the withdrawal.

I guess I generally expect to pay a use fee in Spain (and most countries), but my main travel card reimburses them.

The idea that Bank ATMs do not charge a fee is woefully outdated I'm afraid, many do, and since the ATM knows what bank you are with, and if you are from a foreign country, it can charge a fee, or not, based on those factors.

Of banks I recall using, I pretty much avoid Santander, they had the highest fee for me as well, in the 7 euro range, and even though it is reimbursed, I just do not want to encourage them with their fees. One trip, I found Caja Rurals ATMS to be fee free, but for the most part, I use the ATM that is nearest. Any bank ATM will also likely make a DCC offer in Spain. Aside from DCC, all ATMs in Spain offer the same exchange rate, since your network sets that.

Anymore, you are using an ATM maybe only once a trip, so paying a small fee for the convenience is really not an issue. I certainly would not waste time and effort to try to seek out a non-fee ATM, better things to do on your trip. Back in the day, where you hit up an ATM daily, or every other day, with drawing potentially thousands over a trip, then it was all more of a topic.

You're correct; the latest Barcelona guidebook still recommends bank ATMs but no longer states low or zero fees as a reason. Instead it discusses whether the exchange rates would be more or less favorable, which IMO shouldn't be an issue if you're not letting the ATM do the currency conversion math for you.
Advice on which ATMs charge lower fees still seems like a useful bit of data - is €7 the norm in Barcelona?

is €7 the norm in Barcelona?

I can't speak for Barcelona specifically, but in visiting Spain for a month or so each year for the last 4 or more, 7 euro is high. Like I said, I did see that once at a Santander ATM (then avoided them for that reason), but most others were in the range of 3-4 euro. The few fee-free ATMs I found, tended to be from smaller banks.

I have also found that those located in the tourist mainstream tended to charge a fee, but the same brand ATM, out in the wild, did not. Though noticed that less recently.

Every ATM I have used in Spain charged a fee. I always use bank machines. I’m not a customer of the bank so they have no obligation to offer me a free service.

Until maybe 5-6 years ago I think there were some fee free options to make withdrawals but now all the banks charge.

Many of us have debit cards that reimburse for bank fees. I'm unaware of any that make customers whole for exchange rates that exceed European Central Bank by up to 20 percent. The fee is only half of the added cost. Both fees and unfavorable exchange rates using ATMs are on the rise; yet another reason to prefer credit cards.

Spanish ATMs have been charging fees to non-customers for a few years, even for withdrawal from a Euro bank account, but the fees vary wildly. I've had anything from 0.50€ to 3€+ in my latest visits. It pays to shop around.

jphbucks, I don't understand why there would be significant variations in exchange rate if the ATM-user opted to decline conversion.

Different ATMs, at least in most of Europe, do not charge different exchange rates. The exchange rate is set by the network (Plus and Cirrus mainly, aligned with Visa and Mastercard, respectfully) and generally is in the 1% range.

If you are seeing a different rate, or the ATM tells you what the rate will be...you are doing DCC. Don't do DCC.

jphbucks, I don't understand why there would be significant variations in exchange rate if the ATM-user opted to decline conversion.

I was given no choice: accept 1.28 USD per euro or get no cash. There was no option to accept or decline DCC on either ATM I used in Spain: CaixaBank and Santander.

I can't recall the exact wording you will see when using an ATM in Spain, but in general, one of the first questions asked is if you would like to do the transaction in Dollars (If a US card) or euros, you always want to pick euros. Then as a follow up question, they ask if you want them to do the conversion, often "warning" you that if you do not accept their rate, then you will not know what rate you will get. Decline them doing the conversion, and the transaction goes through as an ATM transaction. The thing is, you don't know the rate you will get, but you can bet it will be the best rate you can get.

I can't recall the exact wording you will see when using an ATM in Spain, but in general, one of the first questions asked is if you would like to do the transaction in Dollars (If a US card) or euros, you always want to pick euros.

This may or not be true "in general," but not at the ATMs I used. I wish other travelers the best when using Spanish bank ATMs.

Wow; I've never encountered an ATM that didn't either give the option to decline conversion or show in detail the conversion rate being imposed and the total charge for the planned withdrawal, with an option to cancel the transaction right on the same screen.

However, I haven't been to Spain since 2019, Germany since 2015, etc.--so I certainly don't have recent experience with the situation in all countries in Europe. From the traveler's perspective, it is obviously worsening somewhat, overall, from year to year.

I was offered the option of canceling the transaction, but I needed cash and wasn't inclined to wander from ATM to ATM in search of a better conversion rate. I suspect many travelers might find themselves in a similar situation.

EU law requires an ATM to allow you to opt out of DCC and proceed with an ATM transaction. I've used both Caixa Bank and Santander (though I typically avoid Santander) and have had no issue proceeding with a normal ATM transaction.

I will concede, the questions can be confusing, and they are not always obvious or user friendly, but it works out.