Withdrawing cash abroad (EU)

[HorribleHairdressers]

Boring thread but thought MN might have some advice for next time before I contact the card issuers.....

Just come back from a short break in Austria. Have a post office travel money card (preload type affair) and Halifax clarity card. Correct pin for each. Enough money/ balance on each.

Had no difficulties using the cards in the usual chip and pin machines but tried several banks / ATMs and only one let me withdraw cash! Sometimes you just need cash, particularly for buses and markets.

Has anyone else experienced this? What am I doing wrong? As I say, pin was correct but the ATMs wouldn’t give me money.

Did the machine give any messages to say why they couldn't dispense cash?

The same ATM said “technical error” for one card and insufficient funds for the other. I know I definitely put enough funds on the card.

The other ATMs I can’t remember. Just “request refused” I think. One did work as I said but I can’t rely on chance in future. Luckily I had some cash already.

I will contact the card issuers but I can’t imagine I’m going to get meaningful answers.

I think it’s only certain machines.
It’s a MasterCard so it has to be a MasterCard machine. A visa machine is no good.
Like years ago here when you could only use certain banks machines.

OP here: FML post office has inexplicably sent me a new card which has the € uploaded onto it. The old card failed to upload €.

I now have 2 cards, both with money on and am not going back to Europe any time soon 🤦🏻‍♀️

You can hold on to the P.O card and it will still be OK to use after a few months, if you do go away again. The other option is to cash it in, but what you get refunded will be dependent on the currency rate of exchange at the time. As the P.O sent you a new card because the other one failed to upload, I’d ask about compensation.

I used to have a pre-loaded card, but gave it up and now take some cash and use a Santander Zero card, gives you the option to choose the upper limit of what you can spend and is not linked directly to your current account, so if it was nicked the thieves couldn’t clean it out. Can be used in ATMS as a cash card, debit or credit. Statements monthly and paid by direct debit. I also use it if going to London so that I don’t need to take my current account cards. You can do the same with your clarity card I think.

I’ve been to west Africa with a Starling MasterCard and Bo visa used in loads of places no issues, no issues taking cash out and no charges on either.

Have used starling across the world never had an issue yet.