Is it possible to use a visa electron card (issued in Spain) in France? What charges would there be?

Question

Hi,

I have a visa electron (issued by Banco Halifax Hispana) and I am hoping to be able to use it on our drive home through France. It has no logos on the back except the Spanish ServiRed one.

Does anyone know if this card will work in shops or ATMs? I imagined that as both countries have the Euro, all would be fine and dandy but apparently this may not be the case?

Thanks a lot

Eva

NB I am talking about visa ELECTRON which is a debit card, NOT visa credit card.

Answer 1

It should work fine, but why don't you bring some Spanish Euros (:-)) just in case. I had some purely techincal problems with my French Visa-Carte Bleu.

Answer 2

Hello,

there is no problem to use your visa card anywhere (shops, ATM, restaurants...). Everybody will take it and the charges will be the same than in Spain. There is no extra fee while traveling within EU.

PS : Doh, Greg, there is no Francs in France for a while! Do you live on the moon or something?

NB after your NB : Electron is even better since it's a debit card and not a credit card. We also use Electron cards in France.

Answer 3

Yes, you should be able to use it. If you get Euro, there will not be any exchange fee, but your bank and the bank's ATM you pull the funds out of will probably charge you a fee. If you get Francs, there will be an exchange fee your bank will charge too. Call your bank ahead of time so you know what fees they charge. Many ATM's will tell you fees they charge while taking out funds, so you should not have too many surprises when you get your next statement. Safe and Happy travels!!!