ATM in St Jean Pied de Port

[Pandre2011]

Looking for a good trusted ATM in St Jean Pied de Port.

 

[mspath]

It is always safest to use an ATM inside a bank. Google the terms Saint Jean Pied de Port and ATM to see a list on a map. However all banks are closed until Tuesday May 30, 2023 for the Pentacoste holiday here in France.

 

[Mrs. Bloem]

Various ATMs close to the Camino. Bank Paribas is well known. See map. The black line on the right of the map is de Camino route, walking direction is from top to bottom.

 

[JLuis]

What is an untrusted ATM?

 

[Pandre2011]

What is an untrusted ATM?

Good point. I guess an ATM with minimum fees who gives a fair exchange rate.

 

[Walkerooni]

Fees vary, but have nothing to do with exchange rates. This is the most recent fee guide I have seen. It may not be exact, but gives you an idea. Just make sure that when prompted by the ATM, you choose to withdraw $ in local currency, not your home currency. That is where exchange rates come in, and you will get dinged twice if you choose your home currency.

 

[JLuis]

Good point. I guess an ATM with minimum fees who gives a fair exchange rate.

Thank you.

 

[lt56ny]

Good point. I guess an ATM with minimum fees who gives a fair exchange rate.

If you can't find one when you arrive just check with the pilgrim office or in any albergue I am sure they can help solve you problem quickly. You can also get cash at the airport when you arrive. Just ask for a cajero. That is if you arrive in Spain of course!

 

[trecile]

There are a growing number of ATMs where you can tap your card rather than insert it into the machine. If you are worried about an ATM "eating" your card you should look for them.

 

[Rita Flower]

And buy some euros at home before you leave. So you don’t have to withdraw euros from an ATM as soon as you arrive. And don’t incur any additional fees.

 

[Pandre2011]

And buy some euros at home before you leave. So you don’t have to withdraw euros from an ATM as soon as you arrive. And don’t incur any additional fees.

I did that last time but I found that it was cheaper to get Euros from a bank in Europe than getting them in the US

 

[Rita Flower]

I did that last time but I found that it was cheaper to get Euros from a bank in Europe than getting them in the US

Wow. Thanks for sharing. Not sure if it is the same in Australia but I will remember that for the future.
I still like to land with some local currency in my pocket but will reconsider how much I take.

 

[Barkley]

We deposited € on the "Wise" visa card and used it in our CF a few weeks ago. We are allowed one free cash withdrawal & subsequent withdrawals have a fee. Main point is that different banks charge different withdrawal free. The highest was €7, so do a search on your card for which spanish banks charge lower withdrawal fees. Hope this helps.

 

[Rita Flower]

C

We deposited € on the "Wise" visa card and used it in our CF a few weeks ago. We are allowed one free cash withdrawal & subsequent withdrawals have a fee. Main point is that different banks charge different withdrawal free. The highest was €7, so do a search on your card for which spanish banks charge lower withdrawal fees. Hope this helps.

Caxia was free last year.

 

[Barkley]

For our Wise card, Caxis was most expensive at €7, Duetche was cheapest at €2. It must vary depending on card and bank.

 

[Kathar1na]

Caxia was free last year.

Caxia ATMs would be for later, though. Caxia is a Spanish bank and does not do business or have ATMs in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port which is a town in France.

And as far as fees for withdrawal of euros are concerned when currency conversion is involved we don't even know whether it makes any difference which bank's ATM is used in SJPP because their fee structures for such financial operations are likely to be different from banks operating in Spain.

SJPP is a small town and not an international airport or major international shopping area. I would not think twice - if I saw a bank's ATM in SJPP, I'd get my money from it.

 

[Flatlander]

Looking for a good trusted ATM in St Jean Pied de Port.

I'm not sure what good "trusted" is as a description - any ATM can be "modified".

I've found best practice is to only use ATMs at or in banks and only during office hours so that there are people to deal with in the event of an emergency.

I also take a photo of the ATM, including any id number etc. so that I now have a geo-tagged, dated and timed record.

On a forum like this with people from all over the world and different banking systems it's best to not to rely too much on general experience and find out fo ourselves how our cards will work abroad. These days, banking apps can be an important piece of the jigsaw and understanding how to use them can be important.

It may not be a bad idea to request a second, separate card, carried separately in case of loss, theft etc.

 

[Sugaree]

We found that the chips on two different cards did not work with the tapping system. One thing to check at home is what the foreign transaction fee charged by your card issuer will be. One of ours is over 3%, one was a bit lower and one doesn't charge anything. Also if you set any kind of limit at home with your bank for an ATM or debit card don't forget that 200€ could be more depending on the exchange rate. When we were just in France 1 Euro cost anywhere from $1.16 to $1.18. We got an unchipped ATM card, attached to a savings account with a couple thousand dollars in it, so no one could read the card when it was out of the rfid sleeve. And if someone stole it after figuring out our pin they would get a limited amount of our money. We got text and email alerts for every transaction, credit, atm and debit. A pain to set it all up but worth it for piece of mind. And be sure to have pins for all your credit cards.

 

[mspath]

Do make sure well before leaving home that your credit card is not about to expire and inform your bank that you will be abroad.

April 1, 2006 in Cee on the Finistère camino I walked with 3 British pilgrims. At the local bank ATM my card would not work, it had expired. Was this some crazy April Fools joke? While I wondered one British pilgrim, who by chance had the same last name as mine, kindly offered to lend me funds. Ouf! Since then, of course, I always carried 2 up to date cards plus a stash of hidden cash.

 

[BROWNCOUNTYBOB]

Not sure about St Jean, but on our four Camino Frances, we used BBVA ATMs throughout Spain. Bob