Have you ever heard of skimming? This is a form of fraud in which the data on your card is illegally spied out, for example at a manipulated ATM. The copied data is then copied onto a faked card in order to withdraw cash improperly in countries outside Europe. To prevent this from happening to your debit card, there is the free GeoControl function.
GeoControl
Last Article Update 18.06.2025
GeoControl is automatically activated for your debit card and is therefore protected against this form of misuse. It is therefore not possible to withdraw cash from ATMs outside Europe with your debit card. To still have enough cash on holiday, you can suspend the GeoControl function for a maximum of three months. You can suspend the function again at any time.
Why GeoControl?
GeoControl offers you more security by preventing withdrawals with counterfeit cards in high-risk countries. This saves you from potential inconveniences such as damage reports or reports to the police as well as blocking of cards.
Deactivate GeoControl
If you want to withdraw cash with your debit card outside Europe, for example on holiday, this is possible without any problems if you deactivate GeoControl beforehand. You can pause GeoControl for a maximum of 3 months. If you are planning a longer stay abroad, deactivate GeoControl again after the 3 months to continue using the card for cash withdrawals.
App
How it works
You can deactivate GeoControl both with the George app and with George on the computer. If you use the app, select the account, and in a further step you will find the debit card under the functions. Simply click on it, select the functions and you can suspend GeoControl.
Then in the next step, select the date until which you would like to withdraw cash with your debit card outside Europe. You can suspend the function for a maximum of 3 months. After that, a new deactivation is necessary.
Confirm the action with your chosen signing method, for example s Identity. The GeoControl function is now suspended and will be reactivated automatically after the period you have selected.
Web Browser
How it works
You can deactivate GeoControl both with the George app and with George on your computer. Enter George in the browser version and go to your debit card. You can find it on George Web by going to "Your products" and selecting the card directly there, or the corresponding account.
Then in the next step, select the date until which you would like to withdraw cash with your debit card outside Europe. You can suspend the function for a maximum of 3 months. After that, a new deactivation is necessary.
Confirm the action with your chosen signing method, for example s Identity. The GeoControl function is now suspended and will be reactivated automatically after the period you have selected.
For which countries is GeoControl activated?
This is a good question for political discussions. Let's restrict ourselves to the countries and overseas territories where you can use your card without restrictions WITHOUT having to suspend GeoControl - that goes all the way to the Pacific.
Everywhere here:
Albania, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Andorra, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, French Guyana, Georgia, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Great Britain, Guadeloupe, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Croatia, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Martinique, Macedonia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Réunion, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, St. Helena, Tajikistan. Helena, Tajikistan, Czech Republic, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Hungary, Uzbekistan, Vatican City, Belarus, Cyprus.
This means that nothing will stand in the way of your next holiday trip outside Europe – at least as far as withdrawing cash is concerned.
Author: Tamara Berger-Feichter