What should I do if bank card is swallowed by French cash machine?

Reader question: What should you do in France if a bank cash machine swallows your card? Can you ask the bank for it back?

As a general rule, if the machine is on the wall of a bank and the bank is open, yes, you can ask for it back, unless the staff do not have access to it for security reasons. You will need to prove your identity.

This might happen, for example, if you make a mistake with your code several times in a row, if you wait too long to take your card back after a transaction, or due to a fault with the machine.

However, the card will not be returned if it was taken because it is past its validity date, had previously been cancelled or your bank considers you were using it inappropriately.

It is also, obviously, not possible to get it back if the bank is shut. In this case, you can either try to see if another branch of the same bank is open nearby and which may be able to help or otherwise it is advisable to call your bank to cancel the card and order a new one.

This is partly because bank machines have been known to be tampered with by fraudsters, who will try to recuperate the card after you leave. 

This is another reason why cards can sometimes be ‘swallowed’ by a machine.

Where machines are located in public places like train stations or shopping centres, you should also cancel the card, rather than trying to recuperate it.