John

Does one need a chip on a debit card to withdraw cash from an ATM in Europe? I have a pin but NOT a chip.

Kathie

No.

Seamus

Nope, nein, nyet, non, uh-uh.

John

Thanks guys. Didn't think so but haven't been there for over a year and with all the talk of chip and pin wanted to be certain.

DebitNM

Plain old magnetic ATM or debit card works fine in Europe. You do need a 4 digit PIN thought to use machine.

bvlenci

I don't think you need a 4-digit PIN. When I use my Italian cards (one of which has 4 digits, and one 5 digits) the ATM knows how many digits the card is supposed to have, based on the type of card, so it proceeds with the transaction as soon as I enter the PIN. When I use my USA card, which has four digits, I have to press the Confirm key after I enter it, because the ATM is waiting to see if there's another digit.

Michael

<i>I don't think you need a 4-digit PIN. When I use my Italian cards</i>

But will the US bank (the card is verified at the outset of the transaction) accept a 5 digit pin number?

Christina

They will if that's their system, of course.

I don't understand the idea of an ATM waiting for you, you are always supposed to hit the ENTER key when you are done with the PIN, you have to no matter how many digits it has, don't you?

janisj

Years ago a PIN did have to be 4 digits in European cash machines. Now (at least for some systems) that is no longer the case. They can accept up to 6 digits.

bvlenci

Christina, as I said, when I use one of my Italian cards in an Italian machine, I don't have to hit enter, and don't even have time to do so before it moves on to the next screen. This is in spite of the fact that my Italian cards have varying numbers of digits. The ATM knows, based on the type of card, how many digits it will have and moves on when that number of digits has been entered.

When I use my US card, I have to hit enter, usually "Esegui" on an Italian ATM, but just hit the green key and it will be the right one.

Two other things I should mention regarding use of foreign cards:

When I use my US card, I'm always given a choice of languages for the transaction.

I am now sometimes "offered" the possibility of withdrawing, let's say, €250 or $285 US dollars. Of course the ATM isn't giving you dollars; they're offering to use their own exchange rate, which is never as good as the exchange rate Visa and Mastercard use. Always choose to make the transaction in euros.

DebitNM

"mes "offered" the possibility of withdrawing, let's say, €250 or $285 US dollars. Of course the ATM isn't giving you dollars; they're offering to use their own exchange rate, which is never as good as the exchange rate Visa and Mastercard use. Always choose to make the transaction in euros."

Good info above.

Also, don't forget to notify bank that you are traveling and be sure to tell them EACH country you will visiting.

And carry a back up ATM from a different account in case you have a problem - machine eats card or you lose card and have to cancel the card.

I learned this about the cards that get "eaten" many people say the only use a machine that is a bank machine. I *think* it's because they believe if card gets eaten, they can get it back.

I learned that if the card is eaten, the bank can physically get the card but will not give it back to you nor can they tell you why. They have to turn the card in and YOU have to call your bank to find out why. At least, that was the case in Switzerland last trip.

We carry 3 different ATM/debit from 3 separate bank accounts. We were lucky that we could access our other 2 accounts. I also carry a blank check with me, in case I Have to make a mobile deposit if my funds runs short. They could have that trip since I usually split our cash amongst the accounts. I try to use credit card for most transactions, but some require cash.

bvlenci

The same thing happened to me in Switzerland about five years ago. The ATM was at a train station, and I missed my train because of it.