How can I withdraw my money with a VISA debit card with lower fees in Germany?

Upvote:1

The ATMs of pretty much all major banks state that for cash withdrawals from Visa or Mastercard cards, the issuing bank sets the fees. There will be no fee added on top by the bank operating the ATM. So if your card has a 16-digit number, this rule applies. The exception are cards using some system by Visa or Mastercard which does not have a 16 digit number (VPay, Maestro, ...)

Major banks in this context include, but are not limited to "Sparkasse", "Volksbank", "Sparda Bank", "Deutsche Bank", "Commerzbank". Every ATM with a logo of these banks should follows this rule, even if the ATM is located remote from a bank branch, e.g., at an airport. ATM providers such as "Travelex" may have different rules, and many people avoid these as these are an exception to the rule.

The sentence to look for on the sticker explaining the fees is "Visa/Mastercard: Ob und in welcher Höhe ..., erfragen sie bitte bei der kartenausgebenden Bank." - This means that your issuing bank sets the fees.

Depending on what bank issues your card, you may get a "fee rebate" at certain ATMs. For example, if you have a Bank of America Debit card, at "Deutsche Bank" ATMs, you only pay the fee that you would pay for using the card in a (foreign) shop.

Upvote:2

As a general rule, the cheapest way to get cash is through the ATM, but the cheapest way to spend money is directly at the point of sale device. You should also withdraw the maximum you need (or are allowed) at each ATM transaction to save on transaction and withdrawal fees.

Depending on multiple factors (type of account, type of card, the bank in Germany whose ATM you are using, if you are going across the debit or credit network, the type of transaction (CHIP+PIN), PIN-only and many more) there are extra fees added to the transaction.

You may be able to withdraw money cheaply by using a different card, or transferring money to yourself (via Western Union or similar) using your bank's website. Depending again on your account type and your bank's policies, it may end up being cheaper.

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