# Do your ATMs prompt you in several languages? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 25, 2012, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-your-atms-prompt-you-in-several-languages/626260 "2012-06-25T16:27:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JessEnigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cdc98d/32.png) [@JessEnigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JessEnigma)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-your-atms-prompt-you-in-several-languages/626260/41 "2012-06-26T11:25:43Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Edit: it looks as if ATMs, at least Barclays ones, offer a Welsh option in Wales. [link](http://www.barclays.co.uk/ImportantInformation/OurWelshlanguagepolicy/P1242558101754). Aye, I got a Welsh option when I took cash out in Aberystwyth last week. Multiple banks must offer that option in Wales, because I don’t think it was a Barclays machine I was at. Otherwise I don’t get any language options when I’m at an ATM in England. I don’t use ATMs as much in the US because I just use my debit card all the time, but I don’t remember my bank’s machines offering language options either. My bank is a credit union local to my mostly-monolingual hometown, so I expect they don’t find much call for anything besides English on their ATMs. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-your-atms-prompt-you-in-several-languages/626260/42 "2012-06-26T13:01:05Z")
We have [eight languages](http://www.boingboing.net/2007/11/09/african-atm-offers-e.html) standard on the ATMs I use. The kicker - those are all _official_ languages in South Africa (and not all of them, either). ---
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-your-atms-prompt-you-in-several-languages/626260/43 "2012-06-26T15:31:08Z")
I’m in Israel. If I go to our local ATM and use my card from our Israeli account, I will only get Hebrew on the screen. If I use my card from our American bank account, it will prompt me for either Hebrew or English. I wonder if Russian is a choice if someone uses a Russian bank card; there are a lot of Russians where we live. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-your-atms-prompt-you-in-several-languages/626260/44 "2012-06-26T15:43:49Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > Edit to add: I don’t live in a Gaelic-speaking area of Scotland, but I’d be quite surprised if ATMs in these areas catered to that. According to [this article](http://www.scottishreview.net/BackPage189.shtml), they don’t. (Even those from the Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba. 🙂 ) Irish ATMs do offer an Irish-language option, though, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-your-atms-prompt-you-in-several-languages/626260/45 "2012-06-26T18:05:10Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > According to [this article](http://www.scottishreview.net/BackPage189.shtml), they don’t. (Even those from the Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba. 🙂 ) > > Irish ATMs do offer an Irish-language option, though, IIRC. Interesting, thanks. I’d guess the banks don’t think Gaelic is worth the effort - there are, what, 80,000-odd people who speak it, out of 5 million Scots. And I’d guess that they pretty much all speak English as well. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-your-atms-prompt-you-in-several-languages/626260/46 "2012-06-26T18:30:30Z")
The splash screen on my Canadian bank’s ATMs are multilingual, including Chinese dialect(s), but as soon as I insert my debit card, the machine uses English. IIRC, the ATMs in Banff include Japanese. ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-your-atms-prompt-you-in-several-languages/626260/47 "2012-06-26T18:55:56Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > If banks were smart they would recognize your preferred language from the strip and default to it automatically. PNC Bank actually does that. You tell the ATM your preferred language once, and the system remembers it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-your-atms-prompt-you-in-several-languages/626260.md?page=2)