Foreign ATM useage fees and refunds

Doshwaster

zagfles said:

Doshwaster said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

I have a recollection that somebody on the forums flagged up a cautionary note on using Unicaja ATMs - the instructions at the Without/With Conversion option stage were not as clear as they might have been.

That's quite common on a lot of ATMs - and especially in Spain in my experience - where the instructions can be perhaps deliberately confusing and, less charitably, downright misleading.

Messages like "Warning - if you do not accept this exchange rate we cannot guarantee what your bank will charge you"

Well, maybe they can't but the one guarantee is that it will be much better than you are offering and it's going to be very close to the Interbank rate.

Think it said that sort of thing but never bothered reading it, other than the rate just for curiosity. It did ask twice though, but the same options (with/without conversion) each time. Some of the handheld restaurant terminals ask twice too. Even some contactless POS terminals try DCC, if abroad don't just check the amount and tap like you'd do here, but check if there's a DCC option after tapping. 

Yes, they will try every trick in the book to catch you out so you always need to double check. Even if you have a card loaded with Euros then the terminal will recognise the card as being from the UK so offer payment in GBP.

One improvement I have seen in recent years is that the dodgy waiter/shop staff who automatically press the GBP button on your behalf seem to have gone away. At least nobody has done it to me for a few years. I had a waiter once claim that the terminal did it automatically and there was nothing he could do about it and another claimed that converting it to GBP was doing me a favour by making it easier for me to understand! Clearly thought I was a thick Brit who didn't understand Euros.

Doshwaster

I'm in Tenerife now and can confirm that Banca March now charge €5.50

There are still a few cash only bars and restaurants but far fewer than on previous visits. One bar owner told me that they held out for as long as possible but too many people were coming and expecting to be able to pay by card or phone. They still prefer cash but aren't going to turn away business from those who don't have it 

NoodleDoodleMan

Thanks for that interesting and useful intelligence.

I suspect that only Unicaja are still fee free for "user friendly" debit cards ?

Or Santander at a branch located ATM.

huw01

Off to France next week for the first time in years. Anyone know which french banks dont charge a fee for using their machines ?