Spanish ATM

Suessister

Went to use my use Barclay reward card in a Santander ATM which wanted to charge 7€ for transaction. 

Am I doing something wrong? 

JGB1955

It's the ATM that is charging you - not Barclaycard.  Hard to find a free ATM abroad these days.

Suessister

thanks JG. I didn’t have worries about Barclays but was surprised by steep charges for xchange

NoodleDoodleMan

You need to find a "user friendly" ATM that charges no fees - they are a rare breed now in Spain and the Canaries.

Banca Marca is certainly one (from personal recent experience) and I believe Deutsche Bank likewise.

This Banca March link will show branches and ATMs.

https://www.bancamarch.es/en/branches-and-atms/

If you want totally fee free withdrawals from a Banco Santander fully BRANDED machine you should get a Santander UK debit card - their Everyday Current Account is ideal, and it has no Direct Debit/Standing Order or minmum monthly paying in requirement.

If you do go down that route, there is one relevant health warning - don't use Euro Automatic Cash ATMs which carry a small Banco Santander logo - they are only fee free for Spanish customers of the bank.

bagand96

JGB1955 said:

Hard to find a free ATM abroad these days.

Depends where you are, it varies country by country.  Spain's banks all now seem to charge, nice little earner for them I guess (other than the ones mentioned above @NoodleDoodleMan) But recently in Portugal and Italy none of the ones I used charged.

For the OP, I think Santander withdrawals are free for Santander UK customers, but for non-customers they are the most expensive.

NoodleDoodleMan

"For the OP, I think Santander withdrawals are free for Santander UK customers, but for non-customers they are the most expensive."

That is correct - but you have to ensure that you access a FULLY BRANDED Santander ATM - not the ones of the Euro Automatic Cash network which carry a small Santander logo - they are only fee free for Banco Santander Spanish account holders.

Best use a Santander branch, which are located in most towns of any significant size.

Relatively recently Santander had extended the range of countries where debit card customers can benefit from fee free currency withdrawals at their ATMs.

We won't charge you when you use your personal debit card to make withdrawals at Santander cash machines abroad. You'll find our cash machines in Spain, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and the USA. Make sure you choose to pay in the local currency to avoid being charged any other fees.

Voyager2002

I recently withdrew cash from a Deutsche Bank ATM in Spain. Perfect exchange rate and no fee. Not even an offer of DCC!

(Incidentally I was using a Cumberland Building Society account.)

NoodleDoodleMan

"(Incidentally I was using a Cumberland Building Society account.)"

One of the lesser publicised fee free debit cards - largely because you have to live within the geographical area served by CBS ?

Voyager2002

NoodleDoodleMan said:

"(Incidentally I was using a Cumberland Building Society account.)"

One of the lesser publicised fee free debit cards - largely because you have to live within the geographical area served by CBS ?

Yes, absolutely.

It is a visa card, which gives slightly better exchange rates than does Mastercard.

NoodleDoodleMan

I suspect many punters who live in the appropriate geographic area are unaware that CBS offer this debit card.

travellingbear

Deutche Bank now charges €4.

Unicaja Banco & Arquia Banco don't charge (05/24)