Cash withdrawal

Verified 16 September 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

You need to regularly withdraw cash (also called cash) to make your purchases? The possibilities for withdrawal are different in France and abroad. Here's the information you need to know.

In France

You can withdraw cash at an ATM, at a bank branch or, under conditions, at a merchant's.

The rules differ depending on whether you have a debit card or credit card.

Withdrawal card

A cash card allows you to withdraw cash only in the dispensers owned by your bank.

Withdrawals may be capped. It depends on your account agreement.

Credit card

The credit card allows you to withdraw cash from all cash machines.

Withdrawals may be capped. It depends on your account agreement. The agreement may also provide for a fee for withdrawals from distributors of another bank.

In case of abuse of your possibilities of payment by credit cardHowever, ATM withdrawal may be an opportunity for the bank to confiscate the card. In this case, the card is kept in the machine and the cash is not issued.

If you forget to recover the cash, it is picked up by the machine a few seconds after it is released.

You must then contact the bank agency managing the machine to retrieve them.

If the branch is not accessible, send a written complaint to the bank concerned. Attach the statement of account proving the debit and the withdrawal ticket, if you have it. If the error is found, the bank will pay you back within a few weeks.

You can withdraw cash over the counter in different ways.

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Withdrawal form

In some bank branches, if you have a bank account or a savings account, you can withdraw cash at the counter against the delivery of a form. The latter must contain the references of the account to be debited. You must sign the form and present identification.

This withdrawal option can be extended to other bank branches belonging to the same network as the one that manages your account. However, the additional presentation of a withdrawal card or a means of payment may then be required.

Cash Mandate

If you are a beneficiary of a cash mandate, you can withdraw the cash corresponding to its amount in an agency of the network used by the sender of the mandate.

Uncrossed check

If a uncrossed check has been given to you, you can withdraw the cash corresponding to its amount by going to the agency of the issuer of the check or to an agency of the same network.

Traveler's check

If you have acquired traveler's checks, you can transform them into cash in a bank branch or bureau de change accepting them.

Withdrawals may be capped. It depends on your account agreement. In any case, for security reasons, the bank branch may require to be notified 1 or 2 days in advance if the amount of the withdrawal is large. There may be a charge for this operation. Rates depend on the account agreement.

If you make a purchase from a merchant, you have the option of withdrawing cash at the time of payment. This is called the cashback.

The merchant can give you cash if you pay by credit card for more than the good or service purchased.

The purchase of a good or service is obligatory in order to benefit from a cashback.

The service is reserved for individuals. Business customers are not eligible.

The minimum withdrawal amount is €1 and the maximum of €60. For example, if you are making purchases for €60 in a store and you pay €100 by card, you recover €40 in cash.

Warning  

merchants are not obliged to provide this service.

Abroad

You can, under conditions, use your credit card or traveler's checks to withdraw cash.

You can withdraw cash with your credit card if it is a international map. Withdrawal may be made at cash machines. However, your card does not necessarily work in all ATMs.

Withdrawal rules differ depending on the country you are in.

Euro area countries

Withdrawals by credit card comply with the same price conditions as withdrawals in France. They may be limited to a certain amount per day and per week. These rules apply to:

  • Germany
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Cyprus (except in the north of the island, on the territory under Turkish military occupation)
  • Croatia
  • Spain
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • Greece
  • Ireland
  • Italy (except in the enclave of Campione in Switzerland)
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malta
  • The Netherlands (except in the islands corresponding to the former Netherlands Antilles)
  • Portugal
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia.
Other country

An exchange transaction is carried out and a commission is applied to your withdrawal.

The exchange rate and commission must be indicated on your statement of account.

The exchange rate taken into account shall be that of the day of the exchange of information between the banking institutions.

If you brought traveler's checks, you can exchange them for cash in a bank branch or a bureau de change that accepts them.

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