Using ATMs in Israel
 

Just a heads up.

Somebody told me he called Wells Fargo to make sure they know he'll be in Israel and will be using his ATM card there. Well... not gonna happen!

They told him because of some international fraud they blocked cash withdrawals. So... reconfirm with your bank!

I will call my bank next week to re-confirm.

Can't comment directly about this particular situation, but you should always contact the bank that holds your credit and/or ATM cards. Its important to let the bank/s know you will be out of your home country, where you will be and the dates. Besides, if there are any particular restrictions or problems; also reconfirm the number of digits or letters required as a PIN. All of this should be known before you arrive at your destination.

Faina, do you have an update on the ATMs?

My trip is in late May and I'll call my bank but am wondering if you got confirmation.

Not yet. I'm leaving on March 8 and procrastinating :)

By May anything can happen, so don't trust this post.

And my ATM is with the CitiBank by the way.

Never had a problem with credit cards or ATM in Israel...

But I always call the bank or CC company.

Also, it's always good to carry more than one card. Things happen. If one card refuse to do the job, you have another. That's one reason I keep both Visa and Master Card, even though I stopped using my Visa long ago.

I had some difficulty with ATM machines last summer. The majority appeared to take the Visa debit type card. As I had a regular ATM card, and not one with a Visa logo, I had to search a lot harder to find machines that I could use. Next trip I am bringing a Visa debit card.

...Actually the idea is, BRING DIFFERENT KINDS OF CARDS... If you have, of course... I had the same kind of problems with my ATM card in Europe few years ago (especialy in Switzerland and Italy), and -- again -- that's why I keep my VISA card alive (even though I dob't really use it, only MasterCard).

I have a Citibank card ATM only without any logos (I think :) ) The 800 number girl without any foreign accent assured me I shouldn't have problems with the card for cash withdrawals only.

Maybe it was something Wells Fargo-related only? In any case, never hurts to reconfirm.