Cash in Spain???

Odd-no-more

Odd-no-more

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I read here that Santander would supply cash from a Euro card without a charge. I tried a Santander cash machine but it wanted to charge me €7 to draw €50, I declined. Can anyone recommend a cheaper alternative? So far everyone takes cards but we need some cash for the launderette.
 
As far as I know Santander only supply cash using a Santander card free of charge. I'm sure gus-lopez has mentioned with machines issue cash foc.
 
I opened a Santander current account and transfer money into it whenever I needed to draw any out and then you can use it without charge which I did this morning in Villajoyosa.
 
If you have a Halifax Clarity card, there are no fees for drawing cash in europe however you will pay interest from the withdrawal date, to offset that, you should be able to transfer the amount drawn into your clarity card account the same day using your banking app, but be aware that if you already have a balance on your card the amount you transfer in will come off that first, so you would have to transfer the whole amount outstanding to benefit from an interest and fee free transaction.
 
ChrisL said:
If you have a Halifax Clarity card, there are no fees for drawing cash in europe however you will pay interest from the withdrawal date, to offset that, you should be able to transfer the amount drawn into your clarity card account the same day using your banking app, but be aware that if you already have a balance on your card the amount you transfer in will come off that first, so you would have to transfer the whole amount outstanding to benefit from an interest and fee free transaction.
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Which is why I have two Halifax cards, the clarity one I keep empty until I go abroad and withdraw a cash sum before I start spending on it.

Occasionally I will still have to clear the balance later in the holiday to avoid charges if I have had to take out more cash. It’s a well rehearsed balancing act!

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ChrisL said:
If you have a Halifax Clarity card, there are no fees for drawing cash in europe however you will pay interest from the withdrawal date, to offset that, you should be able to transfer the amount drawn into your clarity card account the same day using your banking app, but be aware that if you already have a balance on your card the amount you transfer in will come off that first, so you would have to transfer the whole amount outstanding to benefit from an interest and fee free transaction.
Click to expand...

Purrfecttune said:
Which is why I have two Halifax cards, the clarity one I keep empty until I go abroad and withdraw a cash sum before I start spending on it.

Occasionally I will still have to clear the balance later in the holiday to avoid charges if I have had to take out more cash. It’s a well rehearsed balancing act!
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It's the banks which own the cash machines that are applying the charges. You need to visit every ATM in town and figure out the cheapest, then get your cash, if times short you just have to accept what the charge is although some are eye watering.
 
Boldly said:
We use our nationwide card in Sabadell machines. Costs €1.70 but we get official exchange rate so cheaper than some fee free cards with a poor rate.
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Wish I'd have know that a few days ago. We stumped up the €7 at santander.
 
All the banks in Spain now charge for getting cash out of the atm whatever card you use, they do vary in charging so good to shop around … €50 usually lasts me a month or two…😎

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There’s something funny about Santander , the details will come to me later. It has to be a Santander card from a Santander machine but a few years back they took over another bank and there’s a glitch with their machine’s and they may charge. We were caught out last year. Didn’t click (I expect I was too busy talking!) until too late. Apparently if you are sensible enough to request and keep the receipt you can claim the fee back. I just winged about it, another of the many things I didn’t like about Cabopino I expect :giggle:
 
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We used Cajamar in Peñiscola yesterday... cost €2.70. Make sure you select the Euro rate rather than the Sterling rate.

We use a Cumberland BS debit card so Exchange rate free. Simply transfer £200 online from the Natwest to the Cumberland 10 minutes before hand. Transfers almost immediately, go up to ATM, use Cumberland card to withdraw €230 (remember you only get charged the banks withdrawal fee once so withdraw as much as you are happy carrying)

Only ever have maximum of £100 in the Cumberland account in case it is compromised. Never use the Natwest card where the millions of pounds are kept!! :whistle2:

The only bank I have found in Spain that charges a zero withdrawal fee is BancaMarch when in the Canary Isles.

Screenshot_20250320-152836_Photos.webp


We've used a couple of launderettes recently that accept cards rather than cash!
 
Odd-no-more said:
If I hadn't left the cash in my desk at home, I wouldn't need any. I will keep trying machines to get an idea of the cost, but as it's out of season, many cash machines are closed.
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Maybe try another laundry as quite a few are tap and pay now…👍🏼
 
We use the Halifax Clarity card and always draw out cash in France before going over the border as we have had to pay fees every time we want cash in Spain.

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Here in Beni, Sabadell charges €1.80 but in the old town the Kutxabank still doesn't charge, we have used both Starling and Revolut cards there recently.
It may be worth looking on Maps for the nearest and give it a try.
 
Odd-no-more said:
I read here that Santander would supply cash from a Euro card without a charge. I tried a Santander cash machine but it wanted to charge me €7 to draw €50, I declined. Can anyone recommend a cheaper alternative? So far everyone takes cards but we need some cash for the launderette.
Click to expand...

Ask the launderette owner, I had the same problem last time in Sweden a few years ago when the Government was trying to go cashless.

I tried to get cash from 5 different banks to no avail but when I had a grumble about it to the site owner, he was happy to change cash for Pounds or Euros.
 
ChrisL said:
If you have a Halifax Clarity card, there are no fees for drawing cash in europe however you will pay interest from the withdrawal date, to offset that, you should be able to transfer the amount drawn into your clarity card account the same day using your banking app, but be aware that if you already have a balance on your card the amount you transfer in will come off that first, so you would have to transfer the whole amount outstanding to benefit from an interest and fee free transaction.
Click to expand...
The local bank may still charge.
 
As I have mentioned on previous threads, it's not just Spain. In the Netherlands there are no longer any machines that do not charge if using anything other than a European issued bank card. The machines are almost all operated by one company and not banks. I can see this is likely to spread further in future. :unsure:

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L' Hobo said:
Ask the launderette owner, I had the same problem last time in Sweden a few years ago when the Government was trying to go cashless.

I tried to get cash from 5 different banks to no avail but when I had a grumble about it to the site owner, he was happy to change cash for Pounds or Euros.
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I don't have any cash, well very little, €15 and about the same in pounds.
 
Two of usI said:
We use the Halifax Clarity card and always draw out cash in France before going over the border as we have had to pay fees every time we want cash in Spain.
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cash - what's that?
 
I use a Nationwide Debit Card (Visa) for holiday cash in Europe. Last year (2024) I recorded that there was no ATM charge at:
Portugal: Multibanco.
Spain: Cashzone in Shopping Centres and also Carrefour.
France: Cashzone in Shopping Centres and Carrefour, BNP Parabas.
Credit Agricole were charging 5 Euro !
There may/must be other ATM that have no fee but I didn't try every one.

Namwaldog https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/members/namwaldog.34615/ is right "Make sure you select the Euro rate rather than the Sterling rate".
 
Just take plenty of cash and two credit cards incase one gets cloned.
 
Some restaurants up in the mountains around Denia don’t take credit cards because the internet signal is too weak.
 
I gave in yesterday and paid€5 to get €40 out of a machine.14% is a rip-off but I need cash for the laundry today

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