Ideal for customers of good banks

Shell: “Refuel” cash free of charge

29.3.2015

Fortunately, not in my region, but there are areas in Germany, where some local savings bank-princes declared war to the modern direct banks.

This war is not fought on the competition of features, services or counselling, but on the back of bank customers.

Everything started with some savings banks blocking the cash withdrawals using credit cards on their ATMs. As a regular reader of this portal, you know that very good direct banks, such as the DKB, bear the fees of ATMs for you as a customer. But how can you do that, if the ATMs are no longer usable for credit cards?

The court stopped this blockade!

Especially when foreign tourists wanted to withdraw cash (credit cards are widespread as travel money in other countries) and could not do this and were displayed misleading messages deliberately on the monitor of ATMs, I found this behaviour of the savings banks very annoying.

But this has also something good:

• For the savings banks. The banks agreed with each other on a “princely”-fee of withdrawals. If you withdraw cash with your DKB Visa Card from an ATM of the savings banks, the savings bank will receive about Euros 1.75 for this. This is more than twice as much as in the international comparison!
• For the customers of direct banks. The latter were looking for alternatives in order to provide their customers with a dense network of fee-free withdrawal possibilities.

This is how the cooperation with the Shell-petrol stations in Germany was developed.

Almost every Shell petrol station is a “cash-dispenser”

In Germany, about 1,300 Shell petrol stations are participating in the cooperation. Not even the placement of ATMs was necessary. The checkout of the petrol station “is considered” an ATM and it works like this:

1. You enter a Shell petrol station and show your DKB VISA credit card (or other bank card that participates in this cooperation) and ask for a cash withdrawal.
2. You will be asked how much money you want to withdraw. The Shell staff member types the amount into the cash register system and prompts you to insert your card into the card reader.
3. Now you enter your PIN and confirm the payment.
4. Then you will be given the cash in person at the checkout of the petrol station.

It was not quite easy to get this confirmation through the DKB and Visa Germany, but several self-tests showed that no fees were charged.

Therefore, I can recommend you to try the cash supply through the German Shell petrol stations.

I would be pleased, if you would add your experiences to this article.

More article about cards in Germany:

• Apply a 2nd Visa card at the DKB
• Credit card comparison