Tips on Spanish ATM fees?

superhoop

Hi everyone.

Off to Tenerife soon (not the main resorts) and I will be taking my Halifax Clarity Credit Card and my Metro Bank Debit Card. No currency loading - all good so far...

Obviously going to take some Euros with me, but any tips for minimising the fees charged by the local banks if I need to take any emergency cash out?

Are charges to foreign cards usually printed on the machine? Or do they only appear on-screen?

Appreciate any advice - thanks!

benjus

superhoop wrote: »

Obviously going to take some Euros with me

Why? You already have two of the best cards for use overseas... just use these to withdraw cash.

I have never been charged to use a Spanish ATM - make sure you use an ATM run by a bank rather than the kind of "convenience" ATMs that charge for withdrawals in the UK. I don't know if ATMs are obliged to warn of any fees under Spanish law.

Also make sure that all transactions are in EUR and don't let any ATMs or retailers convert to GBP for you.

zagfles

benjus wrote: »

Why? You already have two of the best cards for use overseas... just use these to withdraw cash.

I have never been charged to use a Spanish ATM - make sure you use an ATM run by a bank rather than the kind of "convenience" ATMs that charge for withdrawals in the UK. I don't know if ATMs are obliged to warn of any fees under Spanish law.

Also make sure that all transactions are in EUR and don't let any ATMs or retailers convert to GBP for you.

Yes and be very careful when you pay for stuff - it seems to be quite common in Spain for them to change the currency with asking you (this is not allowed by VISA & Mastercard). Check the amount and your receipt carefully. I usually play safe and tell them to charge in EUR when handing my card over.

Doshwaster

I've never been charged by an ATM in Spain either. The only thing you have to watch out for is that some machines sneakily try to charge you in Sterling. Make sure you select the option to debit your account in Euros even if the machine warns you against it.

techno12

I've just got back from a week in Ibiza and used my Clarity 5 times in different ATMs.

Every time they popped up with an offer to convert to GBP, at a really dismal rate.

So, just use as normal but when that screen pops up choose the "w/out conversion" option.

On checking my account when I got back (to pay it off) I wasn't charged any fees on any of the transactions - I just got the 'perfect' rate.

Super_Hotspur

I was recently in Lanzarote and took both the Metro Bank debit Card and Halifax Clarity credit card.
Using my Metro Card at a Santander ATM., I was advised of a 2%
fee for cash withdrawals.
Also using a Halifax Clarity Card to pay a bill at a hotel,
I was also told there is a local 2% handling fee, whether using debit or credit cards.
So these cards seem to be beneficial for eliminating UK bank Charges only.
So as we are not in the Euro currency system we are constantly being ripped off by banks somewhere, making them millions in bank charges.

SW17

I've never had ATM charges in Tenerife from ATMs in banks (except those I expected from the UK card issuer). If you have the Halifax card, and avoid the ATM converting to GBP as others have mentioned, you should only incur the margin included in the exchange rate Halifax gives you (unavoidable, set by Visa/MC)

Of course, the Halifax card is a CC, so you get no interest free period on cash withdrawal, you will incur your monthly interest rate (1-1.6%) as well, assuming you pay off the balance at month end. That does reduce some of the benefit compared to using a debit card.

Or you could ask Harry if his dog has any Euro lying around...(sorry, couldn't help myself there)

NiftyDigits

Super_Hotspur wrote: »

I was recently in Lanzarote and took both the Metro Bank debit Card and Halifax Clarity credit card.
Using my Metro Card at a Santander ATM., I was advised of a 2%
fee for cash withdrawals.
Also using a Halifax Clarity Card to pay a bill at a hotel,
I was also told there is a local 2% handling fee, whether using debit or credit cards.
So these cards seem to be beneficial for eliminating UK bank Charges only.
So as we are not in the Euro currency system we are constantly being ripped off by banks somewhere, making them millions in bank charges.

I haven't come across this. Seems that you are just unlucky. Choosing the wrong ATM options or using the wrong hotels.

*Europe includes the following member countries of the Single European Payments Area (SEPA). Table correct as of 10/12/2013.
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland

In addition, several territories and dependencies of European Union member states are also part of SEPA, i.e. the Aland Islands, the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Reunion, Saint Barth!lemy, Saint Martin, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon and Gibraltar.


Perhaps double check with Metro Bank as to which Territories and Dependencies are included.

purplestar133

Super_Hotspur wrote: »

I was recently in Lanzarote and took both the Metro Bank debit Card and Halifax Clarity credit card.
Using my Metro Card at a Santander ATM., I was advised of a 2%
fee for cash withdrawals.
Also using a Halifax Clarity Card to pay a bill at a hotel,
I was also told there is a local 2% handling fee, whether using debit or credit cards.
So these cards seem to be beneficial for eliminating UK bank Charges only.
So as we are not in the Euro currency system we are constantly being ripped off by banks somewhere, making them millions in bank charges.

That makes me nervous. I'm about to travel to Lanzarote and am planning to withdraw cash when I get there with Halifax Clarity. As Lanzarote is classed as Spain (I think?) aren't the procedures for charging for cash withdrawals the same as in Spain? Where other people say they've had no problem? I hope so!

YorkshireBoy

purplestar133 wrote: »

That makes me nervous. I'm about to travel to Lanzarote and am planning to withdraw cash when I get there with Halifax Clarity. As Lanzarote is classed as Spain (I think?) aren't the procedures for charging for cash withdrawals the same as in Spain?

I was in Lanzarote earlier this year (in fact I'm there every March) and, like the poster above, withdrew from a Santander ATM using my Metro card.

To me, the on-screen message was very clear. To paraphrase:

"Do you want us to do the conversion for a 2% fee, meaning the €100 withdrawal will cost you £88.21 (just an example!), or would you like your bank to do the conversion?"

Having gone to the trouble of getting the Clarity card/Metro Bank card/etc, and knowing there is no conversion fee, why on earth would you want to opt for the first option?

In short, just read (and understand) the message and rest easy!

ManAtHome

Haven't used the Clarity on Fuerteventura for a couple of years now (use the Sanatnder 123 instead), but was never a charge from the local Santander ATM.

As YorkshireBoy posted, you will get a screen asking if you want the transaction settled in Euros or Pounds. Earlier this year it was the bottom left button which was 'No for Euros' - ie no charge for Clarity/123) - remember that as it was the same button for 'Do you want a receipt' (No) and 'Do you want another transaction' (No).