We just arrived at 6:30 AM today from Toronto. We planned to get euros at an ATM at the airport and we got quite the shock when neither of our ATM cards was accepted. We ended up at American Express getting a cash advance on our Visa. (Oddly enough, they wouldn't give me a cash advance on my Amex card.) So then we went to catch the RER into Paris. We are staying in the 15th. We tried to pay for our Paris Visite passes with our Visa cards - both accounts were rejected. We had to use my Amex card for that. We got to Paris and tried a number of ATMs - none of them work for us. We called our bank in Canada (CIBC), and we've been assured that we shouldn't have had any problem with our visa, and that seems true enough - we used one of the cards later today with no problems. But the bank also tells us that we might continue to have problems with our ATM cards - apparently it's "common in Paris". We have never bothered to set up PIN numbers on our Visa cards - we've never had to use them for cash advances. But it looks as though we might end up having to do that. Unfortunately we can't set up a PIN without visiting a CIBC branch (and there isn't one in Paris), so we'll have to get money the old fashioned way, in a bank.

Have others had this problem? It's really annoying - we've used our cards all over the world without problems. What's the difference here in France? If I had known it was going to be an issue, I would have bought euros at home.

Apart from those glitches, I think we'll enjoy Paris!

Not sure why this is underscored .... sorry. French computer?

Do you have 4-digit secret codes? Are your ATM cards attached to a checking acount? (They won;t work if attached to a savings account.) Do your ATM cards have the same network symbols as on the ATM machines (ie Cirrus etc)?

Those are the only things I can think of. does your Canadian bank ave a partner bank in Paris that you can go into in business hours and either get caah or have this resolved?

Are your ATM cards ATM only or are they also debit cards? Do they have a Visa symbol on them?

Also were your Visa credit cards rejected by a machine or by a person when you were buying the tickets? US cards (and I'm guessing Canadian ones as well) will often not work in machines. I couldn't buy tickets from machines at all in Paris, but the card was readily accepted by a clerk.

We used our CIBC convenience card and credit cards in ATMs in Paris, Rome, London etc. Never an issue for us. Tend to like using the convenience card because if it gets swallowed by the ATM we still have a credit card

As your card worked later in the day, it was probably a computer connection problem. Remember, when you tried at CDG at 6.30 am, it was 12.30 am Toronto time and outage is more likely because of scheduled server maintenance etc.
Try to use your card during Toronto working hours, which would be afternoon and evening in Paris.

Ditto on using a CIBC convenience card in Paris. No problems taking cash out of my checking account. PIN an ATM card is 4 digits long. I have never used my CIBC VISA card in an ATM, I prefer using cash instead of higher cost cash advance, as such can't tell you how VISA card is used. My ATM cards are on Plus and CIrrus. You have no ATM / convenience cards at all?? Yikes.

I believe Societe Generale is the CIBC partner in Paris.

Check the factors mentioned above
- is your debit card attached to a checking, not savings, acct
- do you have a 4-digit PIN for it
- does the card have Plus or Visa network logo on it (CIBC website says that's the network to look for)

I looked up some locations for Plus/Visa network - saw you are staying in the 15th, so limited search to that.

CARTE BLEUE
148,200,249 RUE LECOURBE
221 RUE RUE DE LA CROIX NIVERT
17 PLACE ETIENNE PERNET
26 PLACE ETIENNE PERNET
41,57,102,106,117,171,202,237 RUE DE LA CONVENTION
290,316 RUE DE VAUGIRARD
2 RUE JOSEPH LIOUVILLE

Thanks for all the replies. I think it's just our bad luck! Our convenience cards are attached to our chequing accounts although we can also access our other accounts through them as well. We made sure we were using ATMs on the Plus network, and our PINs are 4 digits. So it beats me why we can't withdraw cash. We'll try again today.

Unfortunately the guy we spoke with at CIBC yesterday didn't know what bank is partnered with CIBC. If we continue to have the problem, I'll email my CIBC advisor and see if he can help us with the information. We tend to use Visa as much as possible to pay for meals, etc. (like to get those Aerogold points), but we also need cash occasionally! Like I said, we've used our convenience cards all over - Turkey, Australia, Hong Kong, Greece, Mexico - so I wasn't expecting a problem in Paris. The guy did tell me that it does happen occasionally, and like I said, I guess it's just our bad luck.

Thanks again.

One of our cards finally worked! We were actually able to withdraw money from our chequing account, so quite relieved.

Sounds like it might be the 'timing' thing... glad for you...