PrivateVendetta wrote:
Aha. I thought it pretty much worked that way in the UK anyway? Debit cards are free to use, and afaik don't cost the merchant anything.
I still can't get over countries that don't have free banking. Entirely changes the way I use cards and cash when I'm abroad.
That system works the same across Europe pretty much.
However, banks in many countries charge you some extra fee if you don't draw money from an ATM in a branch of that bank.
Germany is notorious for that, with pretty much every district town counting as a separate bank, although it's the same.
Here in Austria, there's no difference and no charge.
Some merchants charged some small fee if you used your bank card/debit card for amounts smaller than €5, but that behaviour has pretty much vanished in favour of the customer.