Yesterday Joyce Brite said:

> The first time I tried to use the debit card in Paris, the
> transaction was rejected.  I later learned that the funds transfer
> I had requested had not yet been completed so the transaction was
> declined.  However, the next few times I used the debit card, it
> worked!  I got cash from an ATM cash machine in Vienna and made
> purchases in Germany and France.  And PayPal calculated the exchange
> rate for me.

That is true, and my bank also imposes very reasonable exchange fees.
But one warning; some European vending machines are not programmed to
accept debit cards, even though they say they accept Visa.

Some examples I found were the railroad ticket vending machines in
France and the Netherlands, and public telephones in Sweden.  But the
debit card did work when used manually at the ticket window, at the
Gare de Lyon.

The problem is that many smaller stations are unmanned, and using a
card is the only choice.  This happened to me at the RIA station near
my hotel in Amsterdam.  Luckily a very nice woman saw my dilemma, and
purchased my ticket with her card in exchange for cash.

This limitation varies by location; my debit card works in any vending
machine in Britain, big or small, and in all ATMs, wherever located.

I don't like to use credit cards, but now I carry a true Visa credit
card as a backup, pinned to the lining of my jacket.

Richard Vance