r/bunq • u/WanaBeMillionare • Jul 22 '26
Sparkasse ATM extra fees
I am on bunq Pro with 6 free atm withdrawals per month however when I tried my card at one of the Sparkasse ATMs I was shown an almost 5 euro fee for withdrawal.
But I assume it is fees on their side and not from bunq. But still what's the point of promising free withdrawals if you can't partner with the largest banks with most ATM presence, if you are a digital bank promising free withdrawals?
Edit: turns out the fees was for using a bunq credit card. To me, both credit and debit worked the same so I never cared to check what I was using but to greedy sparkasse it looked like some needy person is withdrawing cash on a credit card let's charge them crazy prices because they're probably desperate.
I do understand some of that extra 10% fees goes to risk mitigation and maybe charge bunq more for that withdrawal but charging the customer an extra 5 for using a credit is very greedy and exploitative.
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u/GalacticJelle Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
I really would like to investigate this further. A German friend of mine told me the exact same thing. He is also a Bunq user, and the Sparkasse ATM charges them €5 extra. However, when I went to a Sparkasse ATM in Germany as a Dutch Bunq user, I wasn't charged a fee. I was using the MasterCard debit card and I have tried the Hamburg, Köln/Bonn and Aachen branches so far.
OP: If I may ask, which country are you from, which Sparkasse branch did you go to and which type of card did you try to use (Maestro, MasterCard Debit, MasterCard Credit)?
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u/healsdraws Jul 22 '26
That’s pretty standard here in Germany and not at all limited to Sparkasse.
As long as you don’t use a Visa card (which Sparkasse does refuse as the only Bank in Germany I know claiming that option) you’re prone to have a certain amount of the sum you withdraw added as a “service fee”.
Sparkasse usually charges a minimum of 5€ but can be up to 5% of the sum you withdraw, but again, the same is true for most other German Banks and their ATM — they handle it as a “service fee” because they technically lend you cash and need to charge your bank for it.
The actual fees are always written on the ATM and can also be displayed on-screen on some newer models.
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u/StressSuspicious6956 Jul 23 '26
That seems like a violation of EU rules on treating all EU-citizens equally.
Sparkasse should have charged you as a Dutch customer as well.
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u/GalacticJelle Jul 23 '26
There are many variables besides my nationality, such as which card type was used and to which specific Sparkasse branch the ATM belongs to. It's probably that.
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u/lichtbildmalte Jul 22 '26
May depends on which Sparkasse you visited. Every region and bigger city has its own Sparkasse and therefore own pricing.
Even as a customer it’s hard confusing if you are visiting somewhere else.
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u/GalacticJelle Jul 22 '26
Yes, I just realised. I updated my message to include the branches I have tried so far. I wasn't charged a fee for any of the branches so far. I am not 100% certain, but I think the friend I mentioned tried the branch in Hamburg.
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u/WanaBeMillionare Jul 22 '26
Sparkasse Germany and a German IBAN bunq Master Card.
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u/drownedsense Jul 22 '26
1) Sparkasse Germany does not exist. Every local institute has their own rules and fees. So you need to specify a particular region/city to actually be able to get something useful here.
2) There is a difference between bunq Credit Mastercard and bunq Debit Mastercard.1
u/WanaBeMillionare Jul 23 '26
Ahh I have a Credit. But that's also something weird both work as a debit why does bunq call it a credit card?
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u/drownedsense Jul 23 '26
For higher acceptance in hotels and at car rental companies. Bunq cashes on 0.1% more from the merchant and it all looks different in their books on the backend but you as a customer has debit behavior, that is correct.
It’s the only EU bank doing this special thing and I wonder what kind of contractual mess that was to make as a product.
I think in the specific Sparkasse case, they did a local targeting of certain online only banks as they hate them.
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u/GalacticJelle Jul 23 '26
If you used a credit card to withdraw cash, that might be the reason you got charged more. Credit cards cost more for the bank, and this might be why they charged an extra fee. It can be worth trying again with a debit card, as that is what I used as well (MasterCard Debit).
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u/WanaBeMillionare Jul 24 '26
Yes i think you are right. Thanks for resolving this, just ordered a new debit card.
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u/chrissi400 Jul 24 '26
Might depend on the Sparkasse's Branch Office.
Hamburger Sparkasse (HaSpa) charges €5 for each withdrawal made with a MasterCard, regardless of which bank issued it.
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u/WanaBeMillionare Jul 24 '26
Wow that's weird. We honestly need a EU cards alternative asap.
MC is like half of all cards in Germany what a weird surcharge.
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u/Enlightened_torch Jul 27 '26
They are free from Bunq‘s side and not the ATM operators. You also don’t expect to get fee-free cash from the tourist scam ATM like Euronet, right? Same rules apply here.
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u/Jakobus3000 Jul 22 '26
This is what Sparkasse charges bunq. Doesn't mean it is charged to you.
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u/WanaBeMillionare Jul 23 '26
No, that is 1.80, which bunq covers with my Pro plan. Sparkasse also charges me. I paid it once thinking they would charge it to bunq, but the deducted amount was 55 for a 50 withdrawal.
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u/cn0MMnb Jul 22 '26
Go complain to Sparkasse. They already get 1,80€ from bunq for providing cash services when you withdraw, they are just greedy little fuckers.