Using the debit card of a small US credit union in Europe
Sep 3rd, 2014, 03:20 PM
#21
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Not having an affiliation doesn't mean that a credit union card won't work.
Like Andrew, I have a Andrews Federal Credit Union ATM card [no VISA or Mastercard logo] that I have used in several European countries with no problem. The card has Cirrus, AFFN, Co-Op and Star network emblems on the back. Those are the networks the card is affiliated.
The funny thing is, everyone answering knows how the cards work, we just are not using same words.
Like Andrew, I have a Andrews Federal Credit Union ATM card [no VISA or Mastercard logo] that I have used in several European countries with no problem. The card has Cirrus, AFFN, Co-Op and Star network emblems on the back. Those are the networks the card is affiliated.
The funny thing is, everyone answering knows how the cards work, we just are not using same words.
Sep 3rd, 2014, 04:55 PM
#22
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Sorry - my card is a debit AND credit card - a Visa card linked to my Citibank checking account. But, I have used it as a credit card. I was buying higher cost items at a place that didn;t take AmEx - and the money was not deducted from my checking account, but came through as a Visa charge on my monthly bill. I paid it off as soon as the items were delivered but there was no way I would essentially pay cash and not have the benefit of a credit card company behind me if there was a problem.
Sep 3rd, 2014, 05:46 PM
#23
>>>I am persuaded that my son's card must be a debit card, not a credit card.<<<
He should look at the front of his card. I have an ATM/debit card from my credit union. It is by VISA. I also have a credit card from my credit union. It is by VISA also. The ATM/debit card clearly says DEBIT on the front of the card right above the VISA logo. The credit card does not. They do not have the same numbers on the front.
If I use the credit card, I get a bill to pay monthly. If I use the ATM/debit card, it's deducted from my checking account. If I withdraw cash in Europe from an ATM using my ATM/debit card at an ATM associated with the logo on the back (mine are Cirrus,Star and Accel), I'm charged the 1% by my credit union, but not a fee from the ATM.
He should look at the front of his card. I have an ATM/debit card from my credit union. It is by VISA. I also have a credit card from my credit union. It is by VISA also. The ATM/debit card clearly says DEBIT on the front of the card right above the VISA logo. The credit card does not. They do not have the same numbers on the front.
If I use the credit card, I get a bill to pay monthly. If I use the ATM/debit card, it's deducted from my checking account. If I withdraw cash in Europe from an ATM using my ATM/debit card at an ATM associated with the logo on the back (mine are Cirrus,Star and Accel), I'm charged the 1% by my credit union, but not a fee from the ATM.
Sep 4th, 2014, 05:09 AM
#27
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BarbaraJoan:
I have quite a few debit and credit cards that I use overseas, and we went through this when my daughter spent her semester abroad.
One can go nuts, especially since in my case, <b>my PNC bank reps are universally misinformed</b>. I have used my NON VISA LOGO ATM card everywhere since 1998. Yet I have been told by PNC reps over and over and over again that without the VISA logo, it will not work.
So let's review.
As other posters have indicated, the most important thing for your son's ATM card is NOT the VISA logo. Do check for PLUS or STAR or CIRRUS etc logos on the back. Those will tell your son which ATMs in Europe will shoot out money for him.
If he has no such logo, then you are in deep doo-doo.
If offered a choice at the ATM (rarely), he always needs to choose "checking". So sorry that he will get charged a fee for withdrawal (none of the ones I use now do so), but it will not be a VISA cash advance.
May I suggest that if possible, you make him an authorized user on one of your credit cards? That way there will be no confusion should he need to buy something with credit, and you could limit the DEBIT ability of his ATM card for safety.
For example, since we have Schwab investment accounts, we opened a checking account there
(http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/...ecking_account)
with a VISA logo. They charge us no withdrawal fees, and in Paris, bank ATMs do not charge you fees.
Schwab allows you to set both withdrawal and spending limits. Therefore, we set the withdrawal to $600 per withdrawal and the spending to one penny.
To allow her to use credit when needed, we made our daughter an authorized user on two of our credit cards--a VISA and an AMEX. The VISA, a no-foreign-transaction-fee Capital One, is accepted almost everywhere, but the AMEX, which at the time did charge a foreign transaction fee, works, for some reason, on those street cycle rentals in Paris.
JanisJ--I started laughing about the elderly who are still writing checks. My mother is always shocked that I may go YEARS without stepping foot in a bank; I'm always amazed that she is still visiting one weekly.
I have quite a few debit and credit cards that I use overseas, and we went through this when my daughter spent her semester abroad.
One can go nuts, especially since in my case, <b>my PNC bank reps are universally misinformed</b>. I have used my NON VISA LOGO ATM card everywhere since 1998. Yet I have been told by PNC reps over and over and over again that without the VISA logo, it will not work.
So let's review.
As other posters have indicated, the most important thing for your son's ATM card is NOT the VISA logo. Do check for PLUS or STAR or CIRRUS etc logos on the back. Those will tell your son which ATMs in Europe will shoot out money for him.
If he has no such logo, then you are in deep doo-doo.
If offered a choice at the ATM (rarely), he always needs to choose "checking". So sorry that he will get charged a fee for withdrawal (none of the ones I use now do so), but it will not be a VISA cash advance.
May I suggest that if possible, you make him an authorized user on one of your credit cards? That way there will be no confusion should he need to buy something with credit, and you could limit the DEBIT ability of his ATM card for safety.
For example, since we have Schwab investment accounts, we opened a checking account there
(http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/...ecking_account)
with a VISA logo. They charge us no withdrawal fees, and in Paris, bank ATMs do not charge you fees.
Schwab allows you to set both withdrawal and spending limits. Therefore, we set the withdrawal to $600 per withdrawal and the spending to one penny.
To allow her to use credit when needed, we made our daughter an authorized user on two of our credit cards--a VISA and an AMEX. The VISA, a no-foreign-transaction-fee Capital One, is accepted almost everywhere, but the AMEX, which at the time did charge a foreign transaction fee, works, for some reason, on those street cycle rentals in Paris.
JanisJ--I started laughing about the elderly who are still writing checks. My mother is always shocked that I may go YEARS without stepping foot in a bank; I'm always amazed that she is still visiting one weekly.
Sep 4th, 2014, 07:38 AM
#28
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The simple answer is that the boy is using a debit card, which means ATM card. The AMRO in Netherlands won't charge him a fee because European banks do not. European point-of-sale ATMs may charge fees (read: ATM at a bar).
As for which banks or ATMs to use, his debit card should be on the Plus system because it's a Visa card and Visa owns Plus. This means easy access - most ATMs are on Plus or Cirrus (MasterCard - just look at the logos of the two).
As for which banks or ATMs to use, his debit card should be on the Plus system because it's a Visa card and Visa owns Plus. This means easy access - most ATMs are on Plus or Cirrus (MasterCard - just look at the logos of the two).
Sep 4th, 2014, 01:11 PM
#29
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<<DebitNM, the thing creating all the confusion is the darn banks originally designating the term "credit" or "debit" for method of debit card transactions. What they should be using is "signature" or "pin".>>
??? that doesn't make sense, debit and credit are two completely different things and some cards can do both.
??? that doesn't make sense, debit and credit are two completely different things and some cards can do both.
Sep 4th, 2014, 01:59 PM
#30
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Again, thanks to everyone for all the helpful input. Clearly the next step to get my son to pull out his debit card and tell me what logos are on it. Does anyone have advice for getting a college student to text his mom? Possibly that's a matter for a different forum 
Barbara
Barbara
Sep 4th, 2014, 03:54 PM
#32
To further muddy the waters, credit unions often do things differently than banks.
The POS screens at some businesses offer you a range of choices when you scan your card EVEN when those choices ARE NOT options for that particular card.
The POS screens at some businesses offer you a range of choices when you scan your card EVEN when those choices ARE NOT options for that particular card.
Sep 5th, 2014, 04:31 AM
#33
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"??? that doesn't make sense, debit and credit are two completely different things and some cards can do both."
Christina, which card can be both a debit card and a (pay at the end of the billing cycle) credit card? I have never seen one, as I mentioned to nytraveler. Do you know of one that can do both?
Haven't you ever been asked by a merchant "debit or credit?" They are asking you whether you want to put a PIN or sign, which muddies the waters, since you can run a debit card as a "credit" requiring signature instead of PIN. Either way, the transaction is still deducted from your account within a day or two, not put on a bill to be paid in the future.
Christina, which card can be both a debit card and a (pay at the end of the billing cycle) credit card? I have never seen one, as I mentioned to nytraveler. Do you know of one that can do both?
Haven't you ever been asked by a merchant "debit or credit?" They are asking you whether you want to put a PIN or sign, which muddies the waters, since you can run a debit card as a "credit" requiring signature instead of PIN. Either way, the transaction is still deducted from your account within a day or two, not put on a bill to be paid in the future.
