ATMs-Italy
 

We are going to Italy next week and plan to use our ATM cards. I read in Fodor's last night that Italian ATM's require 5 digits pins. Anyone have experience w/this? My PIN is 4 digits and I don't want to get there and not be able to use it! I don't want to change it unless absolutely necessary.

I'm possitive it's a misprint. All the Fodor's info online says 4 digits. Never heard of 5 anywhere else.

We were there in January and both my husband and I used our ATM cards with four digit PIN numbers. We were able to pull money just fine.

You might want to check with your bank here in the states about your daily limit.

I have a four digit pin and have used my card (too often!) on several trips. Actually, I thought that 5 digit pins DON'T work.

Word of advice: Occasionally I have had problems withdrawing money on a weekend in Italy, so always get money out on a Friday. Also, I have found that even when you can't withdraw money from a cash card, you can from a VISA (with charges obviously), so you may want to activate that feature on your VISA in case of emergencies.

regards .. Ger

We had no problems with our four-digit pin in Italy last summer. As a matter of fact, all the guidebooks I read stated that all pins used in Italy had to be four-digit. I've also been told a five-digit pin will work on occassion if you drop the last digit.

I also confirm that 4 digits worked for me when in Italy. I used both Visa and Master Card without any problem.

However, It is recommended to be sure your first digit is NOT A ZERO.

mbj, check with your bank to see about getting your daily withdrawal rate increased, as lilygirl suggested. Also, it's a good idea to let your bank know the dates of your travel (ditto with credit cards). Banks are exceedingly cautious these days and it might draw suspicion if your card was posting withdrawals in Italy all of a sudden. Your bank will want to know about what they would consider unusual useage--ours did.

I just got back from Italy and also had no problem with a 4 digit pin. Before I left, I also opened a second account with an ATM incase something happed to one of the cards, I could still get cash.
I also notified my bank that I would be using my card in Europe, but the bank's system did not communicate with the Visa Fraud department. While I was away, I got a call on each of the bank accounts I was using. Make sure to ask for the Visa/Mastercard Fraud number from your bank and notify them directly. If your usage is unusual, you will still be able to use your ATM, just not the Visa/Mastercard portion of the card.

Have Fun

I have had my ATM card withdrawal limit upped (a Wells Fargo bank ATM card), but I am curious about if the actual ATM machines being used in Italy have a limit. We are trying to withdraw cash only a few times to minimize the $3 transaction fee. It would be good to know in advance if some Italian ATM machines have limits

Hi TA,

Most machines have a 250 or 300E limit per transaction.

ira to the rescue again :-) Thanks.

Darn about the limit on their side. Oh well, at least with our upped limit I can just do a couple transactions in a row and get the amounts we want all at once, even if I do have to pay the transaction fee each time.

Most machines we encountered had the same limits that Ira stated. However, we were surprised to find a couple of them in Venice with 600 or 800 euro options.

In addition to potential problems with weekends, I always try to use an ATM outside a bank when the bank is open - just in case something goes horribly wrong.

Thanks, gang!

We are ready to pull money out!