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by BadBadJellyBean 2 hours ago
I hope that they don't fall into the same trap that a lot of EU projects fall in to: only solving one problem.

My VISA card is not only a convenient payment method, it also forces ATM operators to give me cash without any extra fees. In Germany the EC card used to be THE way of paying with a card but you had to go to the ATMs of your bank, otherwise there would be sometimes pretty ridiculous fees. The kicker was that the fees were set by your home bank.

Add to that the ease of use online as well as in shops and it's easy to see that this is not going to be easy. I do root for them though, to do better than Wero.

9 comments

> My VISA card is not only a convenient payment method, it also forces ATM operators to give me cash without any extra fees.

And that has absolutely nothing to do with Visa, but everything to do with your local banks.

I'm in Germany and haven't paid ATM fees since years. I also pretty much never use ATM since Covid
As far as i know, your Visa provider pays for the bank ATM fee and they do this with the motivation that you pay with your Credit Card which then basically makes the merchents pay it through the credit card transaction fee which at the end you pay anyway.

I do use my credit card everywere and i'm sure ingdiba is also saving money due to not having offices/ATMs everywhere, but i wouldn't mind if something in the background changes and we can replace Visa/Mastercard with something from the EU.

What does your visa card do to force them to not charge fees?

I still see atm fees over here in the us, so it can't just be being visa. I would guess some regulation but you could get that applied to the digital euro too probably?

I don't know how but AFAIK VISA has a contract clause that prohibits the issuing bank from charging their customers fees for using other ATMs.
I've seen VISA cards with several banks in France where there is commission after 1 to 3 monthly ATM so I'd be doubtful about VISA having such as requirement.
That doesn't help you if the ATM provider charges you, though?
True but that doesn't seem to be a thing here.
It is indeed ridiculous. In the UK all bank cash machines are free no matter which bank you're from. My Girocard charges me 7€ for out of house withdrawals.
Bank-owned and supermarket cash machines don't generally charge for withdrawals in the UK but there are still many third-party machines that do.
I think ATM fees are unrelated to the card type.

My Danish bank imposed a fee on using an ATM from another bank, until my income was high enough to make me a "premium" customer, then these fees were removed. The card didn't change.

I don't know why but my bank offers a VISA debit card and an EC card. I can use the VISA card on every ATM without fees and it doesn't cost me extra. The EC card has extra fees for when I want to get cash with it. I have seen other banks do the same. I think I heard that this is a VISA thing but maybe I'm wrong or misheard.
Similar situation in the US. It's common for banks to abuse their least wealthy customers.
Using a credit card generally forces you to pay fees and higher interest.
VISA has debit cards as well. I have that.
Try buying something with your card that VISA or the US government doesn’t like.
I'm rooting for the EU.
I'd rather they didn't waste time worrying about ATM's. I have used one once in the last 5 years. Almost everywhere I visit regularly doesn't even take cash now. The problem being every requirement you add to something like this is probably years of development time given it's the government(s) involved.
Germany is different. I don't need cash often but sometimes it's needed.