ATM Withdrawals Without Chip and Pin

TerryRockvilleMD

We are on the July 19, 2015 Scandinavia trip and were wondering whether there will be any issues withdrawing cash from in country ATMs if we do not have chip and pin technology on our bank cards. We have standard magnetic strip cards. Any guidance appreciated.

Claudia Sails

I wouldn't expect you to have a problem with a debit card at an ATM. The few problems Americans have are when using a credit card to make a purchase at subway/rail stations, parking, toll booths etc if their credit card wasn't chip and pin, and there wasn't an attendant to process the sale.

Assuming your card is a VISA or Mastercard linked, look on their respective websites for ATM locations in the country you are going to. You can also use google maps but it's hard to tell which networks the atm's are linked to which can affect fees.

Check with your bank/credit union and find out what their fees are for withdrawals overseas. Mine only charges me $1 as long as I use a VISA/Plus ATM machine. Thankfully last summer there was one right across the street from the Tauck hotel in Paris.

We used both types of credit cards for shopping in France with no problems.

Also, look in your Tauck travel documents (green spiral book) under general information and see what they say. Just got mine and it has some helpful information on this.

Hope this helps.

Ken from Vegas

Also, be sure to let your bank know you will be traveling. Sometimes using a bankcard overseas can trigger a fraud alert and shut down your card. Other than that, you should have no problems.