enewell

Any tips on how to get smaller bills from ATMs in Italy? What denominations are available? I have vivid memories of being stuck with large bills which were almost useless. Thanks for any advice you can share!

Andrew

Don't take out multiples of 50 Euros.

greg

Depends on the bank and the bill availability of the moment. If the machine gives you an option other than in multiples of 50€ or an option for smaller bills, take that. Such as 90€, 140€, 190€, 240€, 290€,etc. If the option is available, it is labeled something like "other amount" but then it can also tell you it must be in multiples of 50€, etc.

If not, popular museums and moderate and above restaurants take large bills without fuss. If I use cash at a restaurant, I always use 50€ bills to build up an inventory of 20€ and 10€ bills.

If you are transiting at an airport in an Euro country, you can also obtain smaller bills. I like ABN AMRO ATM at Schiphol Amsterdam airport. It gives me on option to obtain wads of small Euro bills to start a trip in another Euro country.

nytraveler

Agree take out an amount that will require some 20s - such as 160 or 180.

joannyc

I ask my hotel's front desk staff to change my larger bills into smaller ones. Just not all at once! ;-)

Dukey1

I have yet to be anywhere in Europe that didn't take 50 or even 100 Euro bills. When you see some of the prices you'll understand why, too.

kja

I've certainly been at places that didn't take 50 Euro bills (or larger) -- cafes, for example (and a cafe is sometimes the first place I want to go once arriving somewhere), or I might need small bills for public transportation. You've already gotten some great advice about how to get smaller bills....

catcrazyaf

When my friend and I were paying the entrance fee into Castel Sant'Angelo last September we handed the ticket gal a ten euro bill for an eight dollar price. She rudely refused our money and insisted on the exact amount even though many people were entering the building before and after us. We went back and forth several times before she unhappily relented.

Several years ago I was attempting to buy a drink in the gift shop area of the Galleria Borghese and handed the clerk a ten euro bill for a five euro drink. There were many people buying books and souvenirs. I was rudely refused.

What the heck??? I try to keep small bills and coins on hand but it's not always easy as proprietors don't want to part with them.

Ackislander

"I was rudely refused."

Did you call her a "gal" or imply that you thought she was a "gal" like the woman who refused your €10 at the museum?

How did you greet her? Did you say, "Good morning, signora?" Did you say "Please"? Or did you treat her as if she had been put on this earth to cater to you?

People in service positions have a dignity that must be respected, whether it is in Dallas or Dubrovnik. In some countries, they are a lot more likely to assert that dignity than some poor housewife working at CVS.

Try buying a Metro ticket in Paris without saying "Bonjour, Monsieur." Suddenly they will forget all their English. When a person whom they consider well-brought up asks the same question, it is a happy transaction, for which they are thanked by the customer, and each wishes the other a good day. Similar rules apply in Italy or, for that matter, at Walmart.

vincenzo32951

Ack: We have to suck up to someone to get them to take our money? (Yes, I know, it's "being courteous," not "sucking up." Strange how the "being courteous" part isn't assigned to the person taking the money.)

The idea that one would assume the traveler was rude or discourteous is one that I find without merit. You got that out the person's colloquial use of "gal" in a post? C'mon.

I think Americans are sometimes taken aback by clerks who make a fuss about accepting a large bill, since it's a rare occurrence in the US (for me, anyway). And honestly, I don't understand the fuss they make, other than the fact that someone in a minor position is trying to assert some authority. It's silly to put the blame on an innocent traveler who is trying to make a simple transaction.

As I said, in Italian, to one huffy rail clerk in Rome, "I'm sorry. I thought it was your job to make change."

indyhiker

I've had a number of clerks in France and Italy express irritation when I haven't been able to produce a smaller bill or correct change--and I am always polite in my transactions. I've read enough sources regarding a disdain for making change in various European countries to assume that it's not just me. I have gotten to the point where I obsess about getting my hands on coins when traveling, which doesn't always seem to be very easy as we tend to use our credit cards for larger purchases and cash for smaller--such that breaking larger bills is somewhat difficult.

flanneruk

"As I said, in Italian, to one huffy rail clerk in Rome, "I'm sorry. I thought it was your job to make change."

And if she'd replied "vaffanculo", she'd have been absolutely within her rights. And applauded by most onlookers.

If you want to behave like an entitled arsehole, you'll be treated like one.

bvlenci

I almost never have trouble paying with larger bills, and if it's impossible, there has always been an apology. When I pay with a €50 note for a small purchase in a small shop, I apologize, explaining that I have nothing smaller. Far from refusing, sometimes the sales clerk has gone to a neighboring shop to make change. Sometimes the clerk tells me she just can't make the change. In that case, I usually go somewhere else to buy something and return when I have smaller bills.

I don't understand the people who say they've never had difficulty paying with large notes in the US. My experience there is that anything larger than a $20 note causes consternation. In Europe, €50 notes are accepted routinely.

I know that in countries where I'm not familiar with the currency, I do have a tendency to be lazy about giving correct change, because it takes me a while to find it. I try to fight that tendency, partly in order to lighten the load of coins I'm carrying. Perhaps people that serve mostly tourists get irritated at having all their coins disappear into the purses of someone who pays for a €10.10 purchase with two €10 notes, without even looking to see if they have ten cents on hand.

nytraveler

My experience in the US is that many places do not want anything larger than a $20 (what usually comes out of ATMs). $50 and above are much more often counterfeit and In a many of our local stores if you try to pay with a $50 they will have to have a supervisor come to test it out. This is why you pay with CCs - or debit cards - for anything in that kind of amount.

enewell

Thanks for the tips everyone! I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who has had difficulties with larger bills.

NYCFoodSnob

<i><font color=#555555>"I almost never have trouble paying with larger bills"</font></i>

I can honestly say I don't recall ever having a problem in Italy. I tend to carry a large amount in cash, and 100€ bills keep the wad smaller. But on the other hand, if I have a car or need a shopping cart, I make sure I'm never without my share of 1€ coins. I keep those is a classic Italian coin purse. I believe the design is Prada, and it may be almost 30 years old. Still looks like new.

<i><font color=#555555>"I don't understand the people who say they've never had difficulty paying with large notes in the US."</font></i>

Taxi drivers in NYC are notorious for getting bent out of shape if you hand them a $20 bill. I've long been in the habit of asking a driver first <b>before</b> I get in the car. Some drivers are extremely lazy about keeping a "bank" in their car. Other drivers say they are fearful of being robbed, in spite of the number of police cars on the streets these days. Rather than cuss out the driver for not handling his bank professionally, asking first saves a lot of headaches.

<i><font color=#555555>"Any tips on how to get smaller bills from ATMs in Italy?"</font></i>

ATMs are not designed to read your need. Perhaps in the future.

There was a time when I hosted large groups of internationals in Italy who needed ATM advice. Over and over again, people would express anxiety about using and losing their ATM card in a machine. I've never had it happen, but I suppose it could. We figured out the best defense: <b>visit the ATM when the bank is open</b>.

Well, the same is true if you desire smaller cash notes or coins. Any bank teller will happily take your 100€ bill and give you any breakdown you request. This isn't rocket science.

BigRuss

<<I think Americans are sometimes taken aback by clerks who make a fuss about accepting a large bill, since it's a rare occurrence in the US (for me, anyway). >>

In the US, people rarely use anything larger than a 20. ATMs don't produce larger value bills. You can't go to an ATM in the US and take out $300 and get three $100 bills or six $50s or a combination of the two. Won't happen. You'll get 12 $20s. So Vincenzo's post makes no sense.

Anything larger than a $20 in the US gets examined and tested - invisible ink tests and light tests (to check for the two security strips) and other checks.

Just because European ATMs cough up 50E bills doesn't mean it's not a right PITA for clerks to change them for small purchases.

ira

Hey Flann,

>And if she'd replied...

I learned a new word today.

Thanks

Whathello

I boarded a bus in Belgium recently. I hardly ever do. I gave a note of 10 euros. Trip was 2.something. The driver refused said he didn't give change. I asked if he was serious. Asked if he accepted debit card. Said no.
I shrugged and said if I couldn't pay I travel for free.
There was no question of being polite : he was Belgian. I am Belgian.
My kids said it is like that in all buses.

Ackislander

Sorry to start a flame war. All we can do is write from our own experience, and I have never had a €10 note questioned. $50's here often get a careful look and may be put under some kind of ultraviolet light. But if I have a $50 bill more than twice a year, it would be very unusual. $100? I haven't had one in four or five years, though they are common in the underground economy where I live. I just very rarely spend cash, unlike NYCFoodSnob.

I don't suck up to anyone, Vincenzo. I just try to treat people the way I would like to be treated in accordance with what I understand to be appropriate where I am. I get nothing from saying good morning to the bus driver or thanking him when I get off, but it is what polite people do. So I do it.

Some friends were talking at dinner. One said, "Southerners are so nice!" A Southerner replied, "We're not nice; we just have good manners!"

In the parts of the US where I live, the word "gal" is not used. Sorry if I read too much into catcrazy's use of the term. I just assumed that it reflected an attitude that it may not reflect at all.