I previously mentioned was surprised to see that many ATMs in Germany do not give receipts. Some have printers (indicated by output slots) but no receipt is offered, and other machines don’t even have the slot where a receipt can be dispensed. I thought it was bizarre and perhaps unlawful.
Well now I seem to have stumbled into a law that requires ATMs to give receipts:
(o) cash withdrawal services offered by means of ATM by providers, acting on behalf of one or more card issuers, which are not a party to the framework contract with the customer withdrawing money from a payment account, on condition that those providers do not conduct other payment services as referred to in Annex I. Nevertheless the customer shall be provided with the information on any withdrawal charges referred to in Articles 45, 48, 49 and 59 before carrying out the withdrawal as well as on receipt of the cash at the end of the transaction after withdrawal.
It’s written in a weird place – in a section of those excluded from the scope of the law, but then it makes an exception inside that paragraph and the wording is a bit shitty. It seems to say the ATM must give you transaction info after withdrawing your cash. It does not say the info must be on a durable medium. However, the info is not printed on the screen after getting the cash either, so German ATMs are non-compliant nonetheless.
Caveat: that law only applies if it has been transposed into German law from the directive. Considering the weird writing of the law, it’s perhaps likely that the Germans did not transpose it as it is.
Reading it in the original German, it appears that this refers to when a receipt is given, but does not seem to behold owners of ATMs, or the service providers, to provide a receipt from an automated transaction.
I am not a lawyer (or Anwalt, or Advisor, or Attorney), nothing in this post shall constitute advice, or advisement on legal interpretation leading to action. If you have concerns about the propriety of an interaction between yourself and a financial services provider I recommend that you consult with a financial advisor or attorney.
Reading it in the original German, it appears that this refers to when a receipt is given, but does not seem to behold owners of ATMs, or the service providers, to provide a receipt from an automated transaction.
That’s interesting. I assume you are referring to the directive in German and not the German transposition into German law. If so, then the translation of the directive is bad - so the transposition has little hope of being correct. I wonder what happens in that case. In the English version of the directive, the word “receipt” in that context means “upon receiving your cash” (receipt of cash, not printed receipt). But then the obligation is to provide the information after receipt of the cash. But they were sloppy and did not state whether the info had to be on paper.