How can I check my balance using an Italian ATM?
My friend is currently staying in Italy. They are mobile banking and internet banking phobic (they are certain that all their money will be stolen if they use any form of e-banking because, they believe, they are elderly and not tech savvy).
One problem that they face is that when using ATMs in Italy, they don't seem to be able to find out the balance on their account. Do ATMs in Italy allow you to check your balance on a UK account? If so, which banks do so, and what's the Italian label/button for checking your account?
Best Answer
ATMs in Italy (and elsewhere in Europe) typically permit you to change the interface language to English. So there is no need for knowledge of Italian banking terms. Some ATMs even do this automatically if they detect a card issued by an English bank.
So the first step is to get the menus in English.
However, in my experience checking your balance from an ATM abroad is usually not possible. There may be a item on the ATM menu that suggests you can, but if you try to use it you will usually get an error.
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Can I see my account balance at an ATM?
You can usually check your balance at any ATM, even if it's not owned by your bank. Look for an ATM at local bank branches, grocery stores, gas stations, and some retail locations. At the bank, there should be an outside ATM that's available 24 hours a day and an inside ATM that's available during business hours.How can I know my balance in my account?
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Answer 2
Unfortunately, the ATM interface and capabilities vary widely from bank to bank. Some can offer the ability to change language, some not. Most of them allow you to check you current balance and the list of latest transactions, but it can be limited by the kind of cards you are using. If you are using cards belonging to the Italian ATM circuit (Bancomat/Bancomat POS) you should be fine, but any other card might be not supported.
It is likely that this kind of information is not available on the international circuit, especially if their card is on the Visa or Mastercard circuit and not on the Maestro circuit (a sort of legacy european debit card circuit).
They should look for something like "Servizi bancomat" or "Altri servizi" and then "Lista movimenti" (transaction list) or "Saldo" (balance).
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