Withdrawing money with a debit card in the supermarket is often not possible

By Rita Deutschbein | Apr 25, 2023 at 9:05 am

Hardly any bank customer can avoid the debit card. The financial institutions issue the card as a replacement for the debit card and credit cards and advertise it as a practical and fully usable alternative. But that’s not what she is.

How I failed at the supermarket with my debit card

I thought nothing of it when I quickly went to Rewe to do some shopping after work. At the checkout, the employee then asked me if I wanted to withdraw money as well. Why not, I thought, since I already had my new debit card ready to pay. But then this: The employee glanced at my card and asked me if it was “one thing that can do both”. I had to smile inwardly and said yes. The woman meant a debit card that is both a credit card and a giro card in one. After that, however, I lost my smile. Because the employee politely pointed out to me that withdrawing money with the debit card was not possible at Rewe. The readers could only process the classic giro cards. When I asked her, she confirmed that this applies to all branches throughout Germany.

The incident that made me suspicious. I myself had written a report about the first bank in Germany to completely stop depositing and withdrawing cash. Customers of this bank are instead directed to supermarkets, where it is said that money can be withdrawn without any problems. It never occurred to me that supermarkets are not even prepared for the debit card these days. Paying is not a problem, but the majority of customers also use the convenient service of withdrawing money at the checkout. So what can they do?

Also Read: The Differences Between Debit Card And Credit Card

The reactions of the supermarkets

Apparently not much, as the inquiries to various supermarket chains and banks have shown. When asked, Rewe confirmed that cash withdrawals in its own stores are only possible with the Girocard. “There are currently no efforts to extend the service to the credit card industry’s debit cards. We very much regret that some credit institutes and banks only issue debit cards from the credit card industry,” said Rewe spokesman Thomas Bonrath.

In other supermarket chains, customers do not get any money with the debit card either. Kaufland confirmed to TECHBOOK that “customers with a purchase value of 10 euros or more can only withdraw cash amounts between 5 and 200 euros free of charge with their Girocard and the well-known PIN procedure”. The same applies to Lidl. At Edeka, on the other hand, they were unable to give us a general answer to our request. Because the branches in Germany are structured as cooperatives, so that the operators can decide for themselves about their markets. However, some branches would already offer the option of withdrawing cash using a credit or debit card.

At Aldi Nord, however, cash withdrawals are not (yet) possible either. Customers are therefore also denied this alternative. Withdraw money from the supermarket with a debit card? That doesn’t work in many parts of Germany. It even goes so far that retailers don’t even intend to adapt their readers accordingly.

Now you could say: “Then they should just get cash from their bank or ATM.” But that’s becoming increasingly difficult. As briefly mentioned at the beginning, TECHBOOK recently reported on the first bank that no longer issues cash. Many large financial institutions in Germany have not yet taken this radical step, but there are signs of a rethink among them too. Deutsche Bank, Sparkasse and Commerzbank have closed numerous branches in recent months or intend to do so in the near future. ATMs are also disappearing more and more – in the countryside as well as in the cities. “The daily News“ reports of cases in which customers have to drive up to six kilometers after the closure of their branch just to withdraw cash. The fact that the banks then refer to the alternative solution in the supermarket gives the impression that nobody really knows how the debit card really is in Germany.

Here’s what the banks are saying about the debit card problem

But what do the banks actually say about this, after all they are touting their new card as a replacement for debit cards and credit cards? Well, Postbank customers can sit back and relax, because the card isn’t available here yet. The Deutsche Bank also uses the Deutsche Bank Card for many accounts and thus the normal giro card. Alternatively, the usual credit card and the Deutsche Bank Card Plus are also available, which combine the services of a giro card (direct debit) with those of a classic credit card.

When asked by TECHBOOK, a spokeswoman for Berliner Sparkasse revealed that the SparkassenCard was issued as a debit card. Customers could also choose credit cards in cooperation with Visa and Mastercard. “The SparkassenCard has a Girocard function and a so-called co-badge VPAY. Cash can be withdrawn with both cards – debit and credit cards, including in supermarkets,” the spokeswoman said.

Direct banks such as ING and DKB now mainly rely on debit cards. The debit card and credit cards are or will soon be chargeable here. When we asked, both banks refer to withdrawing money from DM, Aldi Süd or Shell gas stations. A spokesman for the DKB explains: “Our customers can get cash with the DKB Visa debit card or Visa credit card throughout Germany at the Dm-Drogerie-Markt (2094 branches in the 2021/22 business year) as soon as they purchase a product (without minimum sales). Also at participating Shell gas stations (even independent of refueling or shopping) and at Aldi Süd (up to 200 euros from a purchase value of 5 euros). And since we continue to provide all customers with an optional Girocard (for EUR 0.99 per month), it is also possible to withdraw money from Rewe and Kaufland.”

The spokesman for ING also stated: “In addition, it has recently also been possible with the Visa card to have cash paid out at the cash register in more and more retail chains. Aldi Süd, Dm, Müller and Netto are already participating in the service. An expansion of the participating dealers is planned.”

Also read: DKB introduces account management fee and removes free Girocard

Gaps in debit card acceptance are ‘annoying’

The gaps in payment and acceptance of debit cards in hotels or car rental companies are regrettable. The spokesman for the DKB said: “These cases are very annoying and from our point of view should ideally not happen again. We are in regular contact with Visa on this, as the company actively takes care of finding and eliminating gaps in acceptance.” A lot has already happened in the car rental sector. Providers such as Sixt, Hertz and Avis (according to Avis, debit cards are accepted everywhere except for Iceland and Canada) are already on board, “which is why we assume that any gaps in acceptance will continue to decrease in the future,” says the spokesman.