ATM withdrawal limits
 

Does anyone know if there's a standard withdrawal limit from ATMs across Europe? Last year, in France, the first time I used my ATM card, it didn't work. Turns out I was trying to withdraw more than the limit amount. Not what my bank at home had told me I could withdraw, but something less than that. I think it was maybe 200 euros. After that, I never tried to get more, but I'm wondering if this is the case everywhere in Europe. We're going to the UK, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland. Does anybody know what the limits might be in these countries?
Thanks!

In both Italy and Germany I've found that the local limit at the ATM machine was 250Euro per withdrawal.

If I needed more cash I made multiple withdrawals, up to my home bank daily limit.

My limit through my bank is $500 and I in Germany I was able to withdraw the equivalent amount in euro.

There are two forces at play here: the limit your own bank imposes and the limit any particular ATM in Europe will impose.

When I go to Europe I call my bank and ask that my daily limit, which is normally $300, be increased to $500.

Sometimes in Europe I can withdraw that much. Other times, a particular machine will have a limit of, say, 300 euro (the most common I've come across). So I have to live with that in certain places.

I've found that most ATMs for Italian Banks in Italy have their own limit of 250 euros at a time. Oddly, I found that Deutschebanks in Italy had no such limit. I've never found such a limit on BNP banks in France or Barclay's in UK and have done substantially higher withdrawals.

When I was in Germany and Austria in July I was able to withdraw 400 Euros each time from the ATM machines.

Although my local bank (BofA) clerk confirmed to me that I had a $1000 per day ATM limit, when we got to Europe I discovered that it was only $600. At one point a phone rep from BofA said that is their limit for foreign ATMs regardless of what your regular limit is. I've not been able to confirm that. But yes, I also withdrew 400 euros at a time a number of times this past trip -- particularly from Deutschebank in Venice several days in a row getting apartment money.

The $600 limit is informative NeoPatrick. Did you find that was true in Rome also?

Oh yes, it was in Rome when we discovered it as I was trying to withdraw larger sums for apartment rental. When I called, I was told by BofA that $600 per day is the maximum they allow on all foreign ATM withdrawals, regardless of what limit you have set for home use.

Word to the wise - check with your own bank/credit union regarding their daily withdrawal limits. Not all of them follow the BofA model. My credit union has a $1,000/day limit, whether withdrawn in US or Europe. As noted, ATM limits in Italy (and Paris to the best of my recollection) are on the order of 250-300 € per transaction.

KC

Hi B,

Most ATMs limit you to about 250E per withdrawal.

You can make another transaction immediately afterward, and keep doing this up to your daily limit.

((I))

I have found it useful to have checking accounts in several banks, just in case one card is lost or won't work, and also in case I need more than the imposed limits.

With the exception of one ATM attached to a tiny bank in deepest Sicily, I have always been able to take out 500 Euro at a time from Italian ATMs. There's an option called "other" or something like that, and you simply enter the amount you want.

Zerlina, your experience in Italy is vastly different from mine. I have tried to enter larger amounts --just 300 or 350 in ATMs of probably 10 different banks in Italy and all but one or two deny it. Reduce the amount to 250 and it goes right through. And as I said, that is regardless of my own much larger limit.

But as mentioned above, when they limit you to 250, you can generally just put your card back in and get another 250.

I guess I don't need to get flustered when my card doesn't work—just try for a lower amount...
Thank you to all who responded!