How do I ask for cash back in French supermarkets (5 Viewers)

[Ingwe]

We were in a Spar yesterday at Marseillan Plage (France) and they were definitely offering a cash-back service. There was a poster saying something like:
“Vous pouvez prendre d’argent a la caisse?”

We took out €50 as we notice more and more sites now want their payment in spondooliks not card bancaires.

 

[Larby]

That will be the Chinese and Indian takeaways then

 

[Widge]

It's worth keeping in mind that Revolut is not technically a bank (yet, the application is in process)
However most of the other players, except Monzo, are banks.

The bank that seems to continually score highest in the Euro account market is Starling.
To such a degree that they recently had to suspend taking on new Euro accounts this summer as they could not train up enough new staff fast enough.

Revolut is a bank in many countries, it seems that someone is dragging their heels getting the approval through in the UK

 

[Barti Ddu]

It's worth keeping in mind that Revolut is not technically a bank (yet, the application is in process)

No longer the case. Revolut received it's provisional UK banking licence last month.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/revolut-gets-uk-banking-licence-after-three-year-wait-2024-07-25/

 

[Purrfecttune]

I have always used my Halifax credit card at atm’s world wide with no charge except for interest until I transfer money online to pay it off asap.

However, my first time in Europe in a Motorhome this year, I discovered that I can withdraw cash from my Santander account, at any Santander atm, without any charges.

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[gus-lopez]

Revolut is a bank in many countries, it seems that someone is dragging their heels getting the approval through in the UK

As said now approved in the Uk but in the 'mobilisation' phase( I think it's called)

 

[JnJ]

As I have mentioned on another post, in the Netherlands there are no longer bank specific cash machines even in branches, they have all been taken over by one company there is €4 charge using any non EU bank card everywhere.

 

[WESTY66]

Must be just me that takes a big wad (changed at Tesco) of euros away with me??
I never use a Card abroad, I guess I’m a bit scared of getting scammed

 

[Barti Ddu]

Must be just me that takes a big wad (changed at Tesco) of euros away with me??
I never use a Card abroad, I guess I’m a bit scared of getting scammed

You will have been scammed if you've accepted the Tesco tourist exchange rate. Use a decent card - Starling - and get the current interbank rate and no commission on any purchase you made abroad.

 

[StillGoing]

You need cash if you visit Germany.

We have a German friend who always comments about how much we use cards in the UK. He joked, I bet you use a credit card for Monopoly. I pulled out the credit card version of Monopoly we have. He couldn’t believe it.

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[StillGoing]

I have always used my Halifax credit card at atm’s world wide with no charge except for interest until I transfer money online to pay it off asap.

However, my first time in Europe in a Motorhome this year, I discovered that I can withdraw cash from my Santander account, at any Santander atm, without any charges.

See my post elsewhere about unexpected charges from Santander when using your card in Portugal.

 

[StillGoing]

Revolut is a bank in many countries, it seems that someone is dragging their heels getting the approval through in the UK

It was only approved by Lithuania in Europe. The application ran into multiple problems, including a warning from auditors that they could not fully verify revenue figures in the group’s 2021 accounts.

 

[PlacidoD]

Must be just me that takes a big wad (changed at Tesco) of euros away with me??
I never use a Card abroad, I guess I’m a bit scared of getting scammed

I would have run out of fuel looking for a PFS crossing France a couple of weeks ago if I had had to pay cash. They were all auto-payment pumps (with adjoining cashier's huts seemingly permanently closed.) I have never used one of those before either in Europe or the UK fearing they might swallow my card (They do not)!!

Re fear of scams - My FairFX card is a pre-paid credit card. So I just load it with £500 sterling or whatever I need and swap to Euros or Swiss Francs. So I can maybe lose that £500 but nothing more.

I am also careful never to use my phone for banking or credit card transactions. If that gets stolen the thief will not find any passwords to get at my money. When away from home I only use my notebook PC for money transactions tethering to my phone as a mobile hotspot rather than any public wi-fi. When running out of funds on the FairFX it takes me just a minute or so in the van to add funds to the card. So most of the time there is no more than a couple of hundred pounds I can lose. I suspect you are more at risk with your wad of cash!!!

 

[WESTY66]

I suspect you are more at risk with your wad of cash!!!

I keep the cash with the Rottweiler AKA Mrs Westy, good luck getting anything off her

 

[VXman]

Doesn't revolute charge you for cash withdrawal. First £200 per month is free.

yes if you withdraw more than that amount .
You can choose a pay account which offers more per month.
I transfer pounds in to revolut ,change to euros as & when , then transfer euros to N26 account where I am allowed 3 transactions per month 600€ per day withdrawal 1800/week 3k per month so max for me is 1800€/month which I rarely have need of.

Why bother with Revolut when there are plenty of mainstream banks that have good exchange rates without any fees.a few even pay you to use them (cashback) I e. Chase and Barclaycard rewards

Must be just me that takes a big wad (changed at Tesco) of euros away with me??
I never use a Card abroad, I guess I’m a bit scared of getting scammed

Been using cards across the world for 20 years - never been a scammed

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[Barti Ddu]

Must be just me that takes a big wad (changed at Tesco) of euros away with me??
I never use a Card abroad, I guess I’m a bit scared of getting scammed

In all seriousness, do you pay with a card rather than with cash in the UK? If so, what's the worry about using it abroad? You're no more likely to be scammed in Europe than at home.

 

[Just smiffy]

Must be just me that takes a big wad (changed at Tesco) of euros away with me??
I never use a Card abroad, I guess I’m a bit scared of getting scammed

Mate… you’ve been scammed before you even walk out of Tesco, get a currency card….

 

[Just smiffy]

Chase is King…..

 

[Widge]

It was only approved by Lithuania in Europe. The application ran into multiple problems, including a warning from auditors that they could not fully verify revenue figures in the group’s 2021 accounts.

Initially Lithuania, but since 2022 a bank in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden,

And since july 2024 UK

 

[Widge]

Must be just me that takes a big wad (changed at Tesco) of euros away with me??
I never use a Card abroad, I guess I’m a bit scared of getting scammed

At least if you get scammed with a card you might have some chance of getting your money back, you have no chance if you get scammed using cash.

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[carolyn]

I always like to have a bit of cash for tips. Some countries haven’t embraced the adding 10% to the bill . Having had both sons work in hospitality for a while I know how much it’s appreciated. Covid really killed tipping in small places in particular.

Travelling through Romania and Bulgaria you’d struggle without a bit of cash in the small places. There’s been a minimum charge in Bulgaria in a lot of the tourist places as well which is very hard to reach if you just want a beer and a coffee! £1.07 diesel yesterday . Trouble is it’s a lot of miles to get it.

I agree in Spain and France though.

We have a few different cards spread across different purse/wallets. So easy to cancel on phone if stollen. Only happened once touch wood. Done in a couple of minutes and carried on with my day out. The people we were with were more upset than me.

 

[WESTY66]

In all seriousness, do you pay with a card rather than with cash in the UK? If so, what's the worry about using it abroad? You're no more likely to be scammed in Europe than at home.

I’ve been abroad with people that HAVE been scammed, run it through the till twice, had their card details used for purchases by someone else etc, and all the worry and palaver with trying to sort it out when they get home, me? Paid with cash, came home nothing to sort, other than get ready for another trip!
I never get the rate advertised at Tesco, always a little better, prob not quite as good as hunting round for that extra cent but hey ho, it’s worked for me for 30 years. And I’ve never ran out of fuel cos I never had a card.

 

[PlacidoD]

I’ve been abroad with people that HAVE been scammed, run it through the till twice, had their card details used for purchases by someone else etc, and all the worry and palaver with trying to sort it out when they get home, me? Paid with cash, came home nothing to sort, other than get ready for another trip!
I never get the rate advertised at Tesco, always a little better, prob not quite as good as hunting round for that extra cent but hey ho, it’s worked for me for 30 years. And I’ve never ran out of fuel cos I never had a card.

I do wonder how long ago those scams that you refer to were? Bluetooth payment devices mean that e.g the waiter brings the device to you and the card never leaves your possession minimising the risk of a scam. But that is your choice.

But more relevantly I was surprised by the lack of manned PFS when crossing France. Pay-at-pump seems to be the norm for much of rural France. I avoided toll roads so the position may be different on motorways but then you really need a card to make toll payments. Maybe I was unlucky but Auchan used to be pay at kiosk but it was pay at pump only in Dieppe. My experience is different in Germany, Switzerland and Italy where pay at kiosk still seems to be common.

 

[WESTY66]

I do wonder how long ago those scams that you refer to were? Bluetooth payment devices mean that e.g the waiter brings the device to you and the card never leaves your possession minimising the risk of a scam. But that is your choice.

But more relevantly I was surprised by the lack of manned PFS when crossing France. Pay-at-pump seems to be the norm for much of rural France. I avoided toll roads so the position may be different on motorways but then you really need a card to make toll payments. Maybe I was unlucky but Auchan used to be pay at kiosk but it was pay at pump only in Dieppe. My experience is different in Germany, Switzerland and Italy where pay at kiosk still seems to be common.

Admittedly it was a while ago and not in a restaurant (I don’t do those) it was at big shops, anyway I’ve never struggles to pay for fuel with cash, yes I’ve pulled up to the card only ones and just moved on, the super U in gravelines still has a booth and as I do my travelling mostly in the finer parts of Europe namely Germany and Switzerland cash is king I guess I’m just an old fashioned youngster

Incidentally I’ve seen a few places where there 2 prices 1 for cash and 1 for card and the cash was 20% cheaper.

OTOH I’m not to be trusted with a CC my van would have every accessory I could fit on it and I’d be skint

 

[PlacidoD]

If your crossing point is Calais and you then head for Lille then Belgium/Luxembourg/Germany pay at kiosk abounds so that explains a lot.

P.S. "... not to be trusted with a CC...."? Nah you are just proper Yorkshire and just "careful" with your money!!!

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[meanders]

Bluetooth payment devices

I think you will find that the majority are operating over wi-fi or the mobile network as both are more secure and have a better range. The little smart card readers with keypads you use alongside a mobile phone are indeed Bluetooth but have to be very near each other to work reliably. The typical range of Bluetooth is only about 10 metres, but walls, seating and bodies quickly attenuate it. Many restaurants are much larger than that.