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#11
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Beware - Visa Only "allowed" 50 Euro from ATM in Germany
Yes and those moules were awful weren't they you poor thing !
"David Horne" a écrit dans le message de groupe de discussion : ... tim.... wrote: "Erilar" wrote in message ... "tim...." wrote: Was travelling back through Germany two days ago and because I had [] Is it just this particular bank (Sparkassa) or a general rule? tim Sounds local. In late April i encountered a similar problem in Kelheim: the hotel's card machine was not working, so since I had to use the ATM and had a week to go, I just asked it for 400 Euro. No problem. My VISA is a debit card. Could that be the difference? I only get cash on a debit card - the fees on that are high enough :-( Tangentially, what bank are you using? I have fairfx euro, sterling and dollar cards- while not as cheap as Nationwide (which was practically free) when they had excellent rates, they're far cheaper than my regular bank (RBS)- and I've found them very reliable, using them in various European countries, USA and as far afield as India and Peru. The euro card is particularly good value for me- the exchange rate has around 1.5-2% commission, and there's a ¤1.50 charge for cash withdrawals (I take large amounts, e.g. 450 euro in Ghent over the weekend.) However, when you use the card as a debit card for purchases in euro (or dollars) when they are the local currency there is no charge. They are pre-paid cards, so that's where much of the money is made I imagine (you get no interest)- and they are very quick to charge, takes a few seconds online, and the money is available in minutes. David -- (*) of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate www.davidhorne.net (email address on website) "[Do you think the world learned anything from the first world war?] No. They never learn." -Harry Patch (1898-2009) |
#12
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Beware - Visa Only "allowed" 50 Euro from ATM in Germany
"David Horne" wrote in message ... tim.... wrote: "Erilar" wrote in message ... "tim...." wrote: Was travelling back through Germany two days ago and because I had [] Is it just this particular bank (Sparkassa) or a general rule? tim Sounds local. In late April i encountered a similar problem in Kelheim: the hotel's card machine was not working, so since I had to use the ATM and had a week to go, I just asked it for 400 Euro. No problem. My VISA is a debit card. Could that be the difference? I only get cash on a debit card - the fees on that are high enough :-( Tangentially, what bank are you using? I have fairfx euro, sterling and dollar cards- while not as cheap as Nationwide (which was practically free) I have a nationwide card (and current account - which I use) I was pretty peed off when they changed the arrangements for foreign transactions. As someone who is currently "unwaged" I have little hope of swapping to another card - unless I lie on the form :-( tim |
#13
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Beware - Visa Only "allowed" 50 Euro from ATM in Germany
tim.... wrote:
"David Horne" wrote in message ... tim.... wrote: "Erilar" wrote in message ... "tim...." wrote: Was travelling back through Germany two days ago and because I had [] Is it just this particular bank (Sparkassa) or a general rule? tim Sounds local. In late April i encountered a similar problem in Kelheim: the hotel's card machine was not working, so since I had to use the ATM and had a week to go, I just asked it for 400 Euro. No problem. My VISA is a debit card. Could that be the difference? I only get cash on a debit card - the fees on that are high enough :-( Tangentially, what bank are you using? I have fairfx euro, sterling and dollar cards- while not as cheap as Nationwide (which was practically free) I have a nationwide card (and current account - which I use) I was pretty peed off when they changed the arrangements for foreign transactions. As someone who is currently "unwaged" I have little hope of swapping to another card - unless I lie on the form :-( Fairfx.com is prepaid, so you don't need a salary, or a credit score. I got mine without charge as I started off with a large enough deposit. It takes minutes to get one online, and the card arrives in a couple of days. I guarantee you it's cheaper than Nationwide as their charges currently stand. Also, they post details of transactions almost immediately... even when still being processed. I had to recharge mine yesterday while in Ghent- even on the ipod (the Ibis had free wifi) it took a a couple of minutes to recharge it and the money was immediately available, despite being warned it can take 2 hours. Note to travellers, there are few ATMs in the historic centre of Ghent, hence why the available ones have long lines... David -- (*) of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate www.davidhorne.net (email address on website) "[Do you think the world learned anything from the first world war?] No. They never learn." -Harry Patch (1898-2009) |
#14
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Beware - Visa Only "allowed" 50 Euro from ATM in Germany
"David Horne" wrote in message ... tim.... wrote: "David Horne" wrote in message ... tim.... wrote: "Erilar" wrote in message ... "tim...." wrote: Was travelling back through Germany two days ago and because I had [] Is it just this particular bank (Sparkassa) or a general rule? tim Sounds local. In late April i encountered a similar problem in Kelheim: the hotel's card machine was not working, so since I had to use the ATM and had a week to go, I just asked it for 400 Euro. No problem. My VISA is a debit card. Could that be the difference? I only get cash on a debit card - the fees on that are high enough :-( Tangentially, what bank are you using? I have fairfx euro, sterling and dollar cards- while not as cheap as Nationwide (which was practically free) I have a nationwide card (and current account - which I use) I was pretty peed off when they changed the arrangements for foreign transactions. As someone who is currently "unwaged" I have little hope of swapping to another card - unless I lie on the form :-( Fairfx.com is prepaid, so you don't need a salary, or a credit score. I got mine without charge as I started off with a large enough deposit. It takes minutes to get one online, and the card arrives in a couple of days. I guarantee you it's cheaper than Nationwide as their charges currently stand. On Tuesday I drew out 250 Euro, which was debited from my account on Thursday: This cost 200.02 + 5 pounds in charges. = 207.02. The Fairfax exchange rate on Friday was 1.2130 so 250 Euro = 206.10 plus 1.5 in charges = 207.60. tim |
#15
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Beware - Visa Only "allowed" 50 Euro from ATM in Germany
tim.... wrote:
"David Horne" wrote in message ... tim.... wrote: "David Horne" wrote in message ... tim.... wrote: "Erilar" wrote in message ... "tim...." wrote: Was travelling back through Germany two days ago and because I had [] Is it just this particular bank (Sparkassa) or a general rule? tim Sounds local. In late April i encountered a similar problem in Kelheim: the hotel's card machine was not working, so since I had to use the ATM and had a week to go, I just asked it for 400 Euro. No problem. My VISA is a debit card. Could that be the difference? I only get cash on a debit card - the fees on that are high enough :-( Tangentially, what bank are you using? I have fairfx euro, sterling and dollar cards- while not as cheap as Nationwide (which was practically free) I have a nationwide card (and current account - which I use) I was pretty peed off when they changed the arrangements for foreign transactions. As someone who is currently "unwaged" I have little hope of swapping to another card - unless I lie on the form :-( Fairfx.com is prepaid, so you don't need a salary, or a credit score. I got mine without charge as I started off with a large enough deposit. It takes minutes to get one online, and the card arrives in a couple of days. I guarantee you it's cheaper than Nationwide as their charges currently stand. On Tuesday I drew out 250 Euro, which was debited from my account on Thursday: This cost 200.02 + 5 pounds in charges. = 207.02. The Fairfax exchange rate on Friday was 1.2130 so 250 Euro = 206.10 plus 1.5 in charges = 207.60. Your figures don't seem right, I think you were charged 205.02. But yes, fairfx wouldn't have saved you, though the rate I got for taking out 450 euro (rate was 1.22 when I charged) was about the same. -- (*) of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate www.davidhorne.net (email address on website) "[Do you think the world learned anything from the first world war?] No. They never learn." -Harry Patch (1898-2009) |
#16
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Beware - Visa Only "allowed" 50 Euro from ATM in Germany
"David Horne" wrote in message ... tim.... wrote: "David Horne" wrote in message ... tim.... wrote: "David Horne" wrote in message ... tim.... wrote: "Erilar" wrote in message ... "tim...." wrote: Was travelling back through Germany two days ago and because I had [] Is it just this particular bank (Sparkassa) or a general rule? tim Sounds local. In late April i encountered a similar problem in Kelheim: the hotel's card machine was not working, so since I had to use the ATM and had a week to go, I just asked it for 400 Euro. No problem. My VISA is a debit card. Could that be the difference? I only get cash on a debit card - the fees on that are high enough :-( Tangentially, what bank are you using? I have fairfx euro, sterling and dollar cards- while not as cheap as Nationwide (which was practically free) I have a nationwide card (and current account - which I use) I was pretty peed off when they changed the arrangements for foreign transactions. As someone who is currently "unwaged" I have little hope of swapping to another card - unless I lie on the form :-( Fairfx.com is prepaid, so you don't need a salary, or a credit score. I got mine without charge as I started off with a large enough deposit. It takes minutes to get one online, and the card arrives in a couple of days. I guarantee you it's cheaper than Nationwide as their charges currently stand. On Tuesday I drew out 250 Euro, which was debited from my account on Thursday: This cost 200.02 + 5 pounds in charges. = 207.02. The Fairfax exchange rate on Friday was 1.2130 so 250 Euro = 206.10 plus 1.5 in charges = 207.60. Your figures don't seem right, I think you were charged 205.02. Oops! But yes, fairfx wouldn't have saved you, though the rate I got for taking out 450 euro (rate was 1.22 when I charged) was about the same. ISTM that the Fairfax rate has the 2% "Visa" fee incorporated into its exchange rate just like my credit card has. But the NW debit card separates it out as a separate item tim |
#17
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Beware - Visa Only "allowed" 50 Euro from ATM in Germany
tim.... wrote:
"David Horne" wrote in message ... [] But yes, fairfx wouldn't have saved you, though the rate I got for taking out 450 euro (rate was 1.22 when I charged) was about the same. ISTM that the Fairfax rate has the 2% "Visa" fee incorporated into its exchange rate just like my credit card has. But the NW debit card separates it out as a separate item I suppose the only 'advantage' is that if you want to gamble on currency rates, you can preload the card... But that works both ways. -- (*) of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate www.davidhorne.net (email address on website) "[Do you think the world learned anything from the first world war?] No. They never learn." -Harry Patch (1898-2009) |
#18
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Beware - Visa Only "allowed" 50 Euro from ATM in Germany
On 05/31/2012 12:56 PM, tim.... wrote:
Was travelling back through Germany two days ago and because I had mistakenly booked a hotel that didn't accept cards and had spent all of my stash of Euro on an unexpected (unavoidable emergency) purchase I needed to get some Euro in a hurry. So went to the ATM and the bloody thing would only give me 50 Euro. Thought that it was because it was out of cash so I tried the one next to it with the same result. Then I noticed a sticker on it stating that "VISA" were restricting withdrawals to 50E. What's that all about? And what flipping use is 50 Euro a time. I'd be going to the machine every day with that restriction. Something which I really hate doing. Not to mention getting the charged minimum fee on my card for such a trivial amount (yes Visa, 50 Euro is a trivial amount!) Is it just this particular bank (Sparkassa) or a general rule? tim As far as I can make out, the problem is an on-going dispute between the Sparkassen (savings banks) and co-op banks on one side and Visa on the other about who pays the cost of the transactions. At one point the savings banks did not accept Visa cards from other banks at all, but since a high court ruling last year they are now obliged to do so. The Sparkassen are presumably still dragging their feet by making life for Visa customers as difficult as possible while still complying with the law. |
#19
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Beware - Visa Only "allowed" 50 Euro from ATM in Germany
"Tom P" wrote in message ... On 05/31/2012 12:56 PM, tim.... wrote: Was travelling back through Germany two days ago and because I had mistakenly booked a hotel that didn't accept cards and had spent all of my stash of Euro on an unexpected (unavoidable emergency) purchase I needed to get some Euro in a hurry. So went to the ATM and the bloody thing would only give me 50 Euro. Thought that it was because it was out of cash so I tried the one next to it with the same result. Then I noticed a sticker on it stating that "VISA" were restricting withdrawals to 50E. What's that all about? And what flipping use is 50 Euro a time. I'd be going to the machine every day with that restriction. Something which I really hate doing. Not to mention getting the charged minimum fee on my card for such a trivial amount (yes Visa, 50 Euro is a trivial amount!) Is it just this particular bank (Sparkassa) or a general rule? tim As far as I can make out, the problem is an on-going dispute between the Sparkassen (savings banks) and co-op banks on one side and Visa on the other about who pays the cost of the transactions. At one point the savings banks did not accept Visa cards from other banks at all, but since a high court ruling last year they are now obliged to do so. The Sparkassen are presumably still dragging their feet by making life for Visa customers as difficult as possible while still complying with the law. OH. I did drive around for half an hour looking for an alternative bank, and all I found was three more of the same (and before anyone asks: Brandenburg (an der Havel)) |
#20
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Beware - Visa Only "allowed" 50 Euro from ATM in Germany
On 06/06/2012 06:44 PM, tim.... wrote:
"Tom wrote in message ... On 05/31/2012 12:56 PM, tim.... wrote: Was travelling back through Germany two days ago and because I had mistakenly booked a hotel that didn't accept cards and had spent all of my stash of Euro on an unexpected (unavoidable emergency) purchase I needed to get some Euro in a hurry. So went to the ATM and the bloody thing would only give me 50 Euro. Thought that it was because it was out of cash so I tried the one next to it with the same result. Then I noticed a sticker on it stating that "VISA" were restricting withdrawals to 50E. What's that all about? And what flipping use is 50 Euro a time. I'd be going to the machine every day with that restriction. Something which I really hate doing. Not to mention getting the charged minimum fee on my card for such a trivial amount (yes Visa, 50 Euro is a trivial amount!) Is it just this particular bank (Sparkassa) or a general rule? tim As far as I can make out, the problem is an on-going dispute between the Sparkassen (savings banks) and co-op banks on one side and Visa on the other about who pays the cost of the transactions. At one point the savings banks did not accept Visa cards from other banks at all, but since a high court ruling last year they are now obliged to do so. The Sparkassen are presumably still dragging their feet by making life for Visa customers as difficult as possible while still complying with the law. OH. I did drive around for half an hour looking for an alternative bank, and all I found was three more of the same (and before anyone asks: Brandenburg (an der Havel)) Mapquest shows three all a few blocks apart within walking distance - Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Citibank. |
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