I will be traveling abroad and plan on bring no more than €400 in cash (I don't like carrying lots of cash in general). My bank charges no fees in Europe and I was wondering how I withdraw money out abroad when I run out.
I read online that the ATM will say something about conversion and that I should say no or something.
(Also how much do you typically carry abroad in cash out of interest?)
Here is a brief instruction on how to use an ATM:
When you find an ATM, first check if it accepts your card. Usually, the ATM shows which card it can accept (e.g. Visa, Plus, MasterCard, etc...) on the edge of the machine.
If the ATM accepts your card, insert your card and start the transaction. After the ATM recognizes your card, the screen switches to a transaction screen.
First choose a language you are most familiar with. Some ATMs display the language as a flag. In this case if you prefer English, choose the UK flag. Enter PIN if necessary.
Then it might be slightly dependent on each ATM, but you should likely choose withdraw. Then choose which account you withdraw from. It is likely savings account but it depends on your bank and your account.
Enter the amount you want to withdraw. Enter PIN if necessary. If you get asked about the conversion, choose "no" (or "without conversion") and make your bank/issuer convert it for you.
After that, the ATM will get you money. Pick up the money and your card, and it is done.
Also, pay attention to people around you while you are using the ATM. And also pay attention to the card slot in order to avoid skimming. And as @Hilmar said in the comment, you shall inform your bank and/or credit card issuer that you are going to use it abroad in case it is blocked by the issuer for a potential fraud.
As to the amount of money to carry, it depends on each country and city, and also your travel plan. I always use a credit card if possible, so in countries that have high credit card acceptance (Estonia, Poland, South Korea, etc...) I only carry one small bill (around US$20). In other cases, I usually carry about US$20 up to US$100 and put emergency money (about US$100 to US$300) in my room.
A few rules of thumb:
Whether paying directly at a merchant or withdrawing cash, refuse any conversion (DCC or dynamic currency conversion), always go for the local currency. Your bank/card issuer will charge you for the conversion but it's almost always cheaper. In some countries, local ATM will slap a fee on top of the amount to be withdrawn no matter what, but that cannot be avoided I think.
If you have a debit card, use that to withdraw cash. Credit cards typically have an extra fee for a cash advance and less attractive conversion rates (higher spread between sell and buy rate). But there are exception and some debit/prepaid card with a credit card brand (e.g. the debit Mastercards mentioned below).
Avoid buying foreign currency from your bank at home or travelling with a lot of cash in the hope to exchange it once you arrived at your destination. Both are quite expensive and even with the fees, using a card at an ATM abroad is usually cheaper than carrying and changing cash (and that's not getting into the safety issue).
If you can, check the fine print and see if you can get a better deal with another card. Depending on your location, you might not have many options but there are online banks like N26 and “fintech” startups like Revolut, which promise a better conversion rate (close to the official exchange rate, with no fees or spread). This option is best if you're going to a place with a wide acceptance for credit cards, as cash withdrawals are usually limited on these cards but you can pay in shops and restaurants as often as you like.
If you really must travel with cash and you are not bothered by the effort, compare the rates and fees and avoid airport cash exchange places or big brands, smaller places might have more interesting rates. I also assume that converting a well-known international currency in the local currency once you arrived is typically cheaper than buying an exotic currency from a main street bank in the eurozone but I have to admit that I haven't bothered verifying that systematically.
Whatever you do, you need to understand that a big part of the costs of exchanging money are hidden in the “spread”, the difference between the buy rate, the sell rate and the spot exchange rate. So if you want to compare several options, you should not only look at fixed fees but compare the rates themselves.
Personally, when going to a place where the infrastructure is limited (few ATM, a currency difficult to exchange abroad), I will take a few hundred USD for emergencies. Otherwise, not even that, maybe €50 and that's it.
Also note that nowadays many cards/banks let you set a profile (possibly through their online banking system or an app) to avoid fraud prevention measures that block your card if you use it faraway from your usual location. You might need to activate that before leaving.
The choice of languages (mentioned by @mdewey) is usually baked in to the ATM, not your card, so check what banks offer which languages. In the USA, virtually all ATM's offer English and Spanish, many offer French, but not every ATM is going to offer Hebrew or Lithuanian. Interestingly enough, I've found that PNC Bank (based in Pennsylvania) offers German and, even more surprisingly, Hmong as standard languages on their ATM's. Many times, the languages offered are going to depend on the bank's target markets, so you are more likely to find Japanese offered from a bank with a lot of branches in Hawaii than you are from a bank that is mostly centered in Louisiana.
When you put your card in it will recognise it as a foreign card and offer you a choice of languages. After that it should be plain sailing. Do not let it offer to charge you in your home currency (the same goes for transactions in shops) as that will be at a rate which suits them rather than you. Your last question is almost impossible to answer as it depends on the acceptance of cards generally for small payments. In some countries you do not really need cash at all.
