Where in Europe would you NOT use an ATM
 

There are regular questions these days about using ATMs to get money, so it got me to wondering is there anywhere in Europe/Asia you would not use ATMs or have easy access to one?

In a bar, in a restaurant, in the hotel lobby.

At a casino. At a racetrack.

When I was in China, many ATMs did not have directions in English.

I was just in Rome, and there were a few ATMs that did not have directions in English (Bank of Roma on Via dell Conciliazione in front of the Vatican). But, I just looked for another ATM with directions in English.

I also would never use an ATM that was "free standing." It would have to be built into a wall of a building.

Thin

1. Anywhere not obviously part of a bank (even if they're legit they tend to be part of a commercial network with extra fees)

2. Any ATM that looks as though it might have been modified in some way, but that can happen anywhere:
http://www.aarpelderwatch.org/public..._skimming.html

Any ATM where
- shady characters are standing nearby
- I cannot recognize who owns an ATM
- the card slot is loose
- the guy ahead cannot get his card out

Not in Europe, but when we were in Cancun-they had 2 types of machines-one were you insert your card and a different one were you just slid it. We were advised to stick to the sliding kind since the other kind was known to have eaten some cards

Are there countries where ATMs are scarce?

The first times I went to Vietnam, there were only about 5 ATMs in the entire country. On later visits, they started appearing everywhere. On my last trip, I flew into Hanoi and just got my necessary money out of the ATM at the airport, like I do in 'modern' countries. I don't think there are any ATMs in Laos yet, however.

I would not use one on a train.
I would not use one on a plane.

I would not use one on a boat.
I would not use one with a goat.

I would not use one in a bar.
I would not use one in a car.

cambodia has not that many ATMs

Very creative answer, J62.

Imagine what the service fee would be to use an ATM onboard a low cost carrier ... they would charge you like $50 for withdrawing $20! Michael O'Leary better hadn't get any ideas ...

Stand-alone ATM kiosks, like those you sometimes see inside a convenience store.

Peru.

I was in Peru in June of 2008. In my group of 12 people, 4 people had their ATM cards cloned and their bank accounts were drained. Upon learning of my traveling companions' misfortune I immeditaely cancelled my ATM card and got a new one so I don't know if my card was cloned or not. If mine was cloned then I beat them to the punch as my card was cancelled before they could use the cloned card.

My traveling companions did get their money back in a reasonable amount of time but nobody needs this hassle. I realize this can happen anywhere in the world but this makes me very gun shy of suing ATMs in Peru ever again.

P_M, did they use the same ATM machine? If yes, my guess is the ATM had been manipulated and had a "card copier" attached to the card slot. If they used different machines, then that is SCARY!

michel - I would think twice about using one in Poland. when we were there at easter, to my surprise the rate being offered by the local exchange booths was way better tham what I'd got at home - which is what I'd be getting if I used an ATM.

i happened to have some £ with me, so I exchanged that.

i appreciate that wouldn't work on a long-term basis.

I was surprised, one of many, that in Turkey ATMs were everywhere. Even in Goreme (Cappadocia), which is not the most bustling place.

Turkey, in some ways, was as or more modern than Canada.

Freestanding ATMs in shops in the Netherlands are all bank ATMs, there are no private ones here as far as I know - I have never come across any - so no extra charges for using one in a shop.

ATMs can be thin on the ground in Africa - only big cities and towns which get plenty of tourists have them as far we saw in Tanzania.

Skimmers - card cloners are active everywhere, in Europe the US and the rest of the world. Dutch ATMs tend to have a warning message telling you to check the card slot carefully and hide your PIN carefully too.

I was the proud user of the first ATM to be installed in the Kingdom of Tonga very shortly after the opening ceremony.
That WAS a ceremony indeed!

But I don't think that's in Europe. I'm sure, they have a few more now.

Aside from the ones that are not affiliated with banks, I wouldn't use one in an area that I thought was dangerous, obviously. This would be any one open to the street in a deserted area at night, or an area with a bunch of questionable people hanging around the streets, even if it's not deserted.

At home, I rarely use one out in the open, I only use ones inside stores, like a grocery store. People are mugged quite often at ATMs where I live, getting money out at night near the metro stop, for example (I live near a metro stop in Wash DC). Not every night, sure, but it's not rare. That's one example, I would avoid using one near a metro or train station, if I can help it, unless I am inside it with a lot of people around.

When I'm traveling in Europe, I can't always find one inside a store or vestibule (in fact, it seems rare), so I have to use one on the street, but I pick my time and place carefully. I also try to do it during banking hours in case of a problem, and use one directly outside a bank. I can't always do that, either, but I do if I can.