Using ATM's in London
 

I will be in London in April. Can I use my Visa ATM card easily in London. Are there any special requirements? Thanks

You should be able to use it easily. The only catch is that if your PIN number contains letters, you should figure out before going what the corresponding numbers are. Some ATMs in Europe don't have letters on their keypads.

I have been to England twice and had no trouble using my ATM. However, make sure you have a four digit PIN. (You get the best exchange rates with ATMs and credit cards.) When I land at Heathrow, I just hit the ATM before I leave the airport, and there is no need to take any pounds with me from the US. If I think I need something smaller than a 20 pound note, I just buy a cup of coffee before leaving the airport, and I have the change I need.

Thanks a lot for the info. Really appreciate it. It was most helpful.

Arlene, <BR> <BR>ATM cards work fine, with the PIN exception that Moria mentioned. However, you generally have access to your checking account funds only and cannot usually obtain funds from a savings account via an ATM. <BR> <BR>I have heard of a few people whose ATM cards were frozen by their banks after one use overseas as part of the banks' theft/fraud efforts. It may pay to contact your bank or card issuer before leaving to authorize foreign transactions. <BR> <BR>Regards, <BR> <BR>David White <BR>http://www.KidsToLondon.com <BR>[email protected]

There are actually quite many things have to be correct for ATM to work. It is not issue for many because they are not hard to satisfy for the most part, except when you fall outside the "expected" setup, then you need to know what they are. Here are some I know: <BR> <BR>- 4 digits pin as previously noted <BR>- Foreign ATM do not give choices between checking and saving. It appears each bank interprets differently if you ask to withdrawn banks without specifying which. The safe answer is CHECKING account. If the bank customer service says, since you have only savings account, it SHOULD work, just ignore their comment. They DO NOT know and they DO NOT care that you will be trouble. I have gone thru many customer service who claim the card SHOULD work, but in fact the account HAD TO BE <BR>CHECKING account, at this bank. <BR>- Some new ATM cards need to be "validated" by home bank first before you can stick into other banks' ATM. This is not a problem if you are already using your card. <BR>- Then there are many other non permanent problems. <BR> o Theft activity alert <BR> o Communication problem between London ATM and your bank of all sorts. <BR> o ATM itself is not loaded with cash, as happened in Paris last year. <BR> o ATM is broken, just like in US <BR> o Your bank is not accepting ATM access during their "US down time". <BR> o Daily withdrawl limit reached when the definition of the duration of day is "US day", not London day. <BR> <BR>By the way, I think what makes it work in London (or any overseas), it that your card and the ATM belong to the same network. It is usually PLUS or CIRRUS. It is either in back of the card or on a cardboard that came with the card. If not sure, you will have to be persistant with the customer service. This is another area where the front end customer service rarely has the CORRECT answer, they do not know about these things.