Spanish ATMs now trap Brits with second screen after you choose Euros: Reject or lose money

Most British visitors to Spain already know they should select “euros” rather than “GB pounds” at cash machines and card readers. Well, that basic step is no longer enough to avoid the bank card trap. Operators have now added a second confirmation screen that quietly reverses that choice for anyone who inavertently presses the wrong button.

Second screen designed to reverse your decision

You correctly pick “euros” as the local currency to pay in. A new screen then appears asking whether you accept or reject the conversion. Ordinary instinct says “accept” simply confirms the euros choice you just made. Pressing it locks in the machine’s own exchange rate instead. That rate routinely costs several per cent more than the rate your UK bank or card network would apply. Cashiers across tourist areas report that most British shoppers, including regular visitors, still fall for the wording. One traveller described selecting reject only to receive the cash anyway, proving the machine continues either way while the language pushes people toward the expensive option.

Why careful people still get caught out

Earlier guidance correctly told British readers to choose the local currency. This new layer exploits that knowledge. The wording feels like a routine confirmation rather than a new decision about who sets the exchange rate. Social media comments from holidaymakers describe the same pattern again and again: they selected euros, then accepted on the next screen without realising what it was going to end up costing them. Money lost on a single €200 withdrawal or restaurant bill often reaches £10 or more and never comes back.

It asks you to confirm if you accept or reject conversion. You (narurally) assume it’s asking if you accept or reject your choice – so you push accept and BINGO you fall into trap – You have accepted the thing you wanted to reject. pic.twitter.com/JYiii6CMAW

— Richardquest (@richardquest) July 30, 2026

Walash on X said, “Drew euros in Kefalonia. I hit reject expecting it to spit out my card, but it gave me my cash… it’s like saying, would you like to be conned? Accept or reject.

Richard on X was in no doubt, “Cashier has told me most shoppers (myself included) are falling for this. It’s wrong wrong wrong. So choose LOCAL currency then REJECT conversion.”

Chris on X recalls, “I fell into this trap with an expensive hotel bill in Portugal last year. Really annoying and basically fraudulent.”

Exact action required at Spanish machines

Select euros first. On the following screen press reject or decline conversion. Treat “accept” as agreement to the machine’s poorer rate and nothing else. Bank-branded cashpoints are still safer than independent machines in busy resorts, yet the same second screen appears on many of them. Keep the receipt whenever the process feels unclear.

European Union still allows the practice

British residents and visitors increasingly ask why this refined trap remains legal. Comments online call the system “predatory” and argue it should face a ban rather than continued tolerance. Card networks issue guidelines, yet the two-step screens continue across Spain and the wider eurozone. No effective prohibition has arrived, leaving individuals to police every button press while operators collect the difference.

Wise and Revolut balances

Cards already holding euros work cleanly when you select the local currency and not its own conversion rate. The machine simply takes the money from that balance. Still press “reject” on any conversion screen so the ATM or terminal cannot override the choice.

Readers who followed earlier advice on choosing local currency now need this extra step. One wrong press on the second screen turns a correct decision into an expensive one. Check every screen carefully until stronger rules finally stop the practice. For the original guidance on basic currency selection at foreign machines, see the earlier Euro Weekly News article on avoiding costly pitfalls with ATMs and cards.