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Using MB Way and Multibanco in Portugal

Researched and written with AI tools from official sources. How we make our guides

How to use Multibanco cash machines and MB WAY in Portugal: paying bills by reference, sending money by phone, limits, fees, and fixing problems.

The Portugal Brief 8 min read

Using MB Way and Multibanco in Portugal

Last verified: October 2026.

Who this is for

  • You have a Portuguese bank account and card, or will soon, and want to use them for everyday payments.
  • You need to pay a bill or a tax with a Multibanco reference.
  • You are visiting or have just arrived and want to use a foreign card at Portuguese cash machines.

Not for you if: you do not have a Portuguese account yet. Read Opening a Bank Account in Portugal first.

Multibanco is Portugal's network of cash machines and card payments, run by the payments company SIBS. Its machines do much more than give cash: you can pay bills, taxes, and phone top-ups, and transfer money. If your card is from a Portuguese bank, Multibanco machines charge you no fee. MB WAY is the SIBS app that links your Portuguese card to your phone number. You can send money instantly, pay in shops and online, and take out cash without a card. Your bank must let you make 25 free app transfers a month.

What Multibanco is

Multibanco started in 1985. Today there are more than 12,000 Multibanco cash machines across the country. They work 24 hours a day and offer more than 90 operations. SIBS manages the network.

Most Portuguese debit cards carry the Multibanco brand. Many also carry an international brand, such as Visa or Mastercard, so the same card works abroad. Portuguese terminals accept cards with the Multibanco, American Express, Maestro, Mastercard, Visa, or Visa Electron brands.

What you can do at a Multibanco machine

  • Withdraw cash, up to €400 a day, by debit or credit.
  • Pay bills with a Multibanco reference (see below).
  • Pay taxes and other state charges under "Pagamentos ao Estado".
  • Transfer money to any Portuguese account using its IBAN.
  • Deposit money, with the funds in your account within one working day.
  • Check your balance and recent transactions, and see your IBAN.
  • Make top-ups (carregamentos) and buy digital vouchers.
  • Change your card PIN and authorise direct debits.
  • Join MB WAY, using your card and phone number.

The SIBS map on the Multibanco website shows the nearest machine.

Paying a bill with a Multibanco reference

Many companies and public bodies give you a Multibanco reference instead of, or as well as, an IBAN. It has three parts:

  • Entidade: the number that identifies who you are paying.
  • Referência: the number that identifies your bill.
  • Montante: the amount.

To pay:

  1. At a Multibanco machine, insert your card and open the payments menu. In your bank's app, choose the option for paying services.
  2. Enter the entity, the reference, and the amount exactly as shown on the bill.
  3. Confirm and keep the receipt.

Check the date. Each reference has a validity set by the company. If it has expired, or if you type a wrong number, the payment is refused. Ask the company for a new reference. If you lose the receipt, a Multibanco machine can print a second copy ("2ª via do talão").

Paying taxes

The tax authority (Autoridade Tributária) lists your payments due on the Portal das Finanças, under A minha Área, then Pagamentos. You can pay:

  • at a Multibanco machine, under "Pagamentos ao Estado", with the reference on the payment document;
  • in your bank's online banking, with the same reference;
  • with MB WAY, in the tax authority's Situação Fiscal Pagamentos app or on the Portal das Finanças, where the MB WAY symbol appears;
  • by direct debit from an account registered with the tax authority.

Two limits apply. You cannot pay €100,000 or more at Multibanco machines or with MB WAY. Cash payments at a tax office are limited to €500. For a direct debit, sign up before the 15th of the month the payment is due. The tax authority suggests starting five working days before that.

What MB WAY is and how to join

MB WAY is a payments app created by SIBS. It links your bank card to your mobile phone number.

What you need:

  • a card from a Portuguese bank that takes part in MB WAY (more than 30 banks do);
  • a mobile phone number, Portuguese or foreign.

Three ways to join:

  1. In the MB WAY app. Download it, enter your phone number, choose your bank, and add your card. Set a six-digit MB WAY PIN and activate the app with the code sent by text message.
  2. At a Multibanco machine. Choose MB WAY, enter your phone number, and create your PIN.
  3. In your bank's app, if your bank offers this.

What MB WAY does

  • Send money to a phone number. If the person has MB WAY, the money arrives at once, whatever their bank. If not, they get a text inviting them to join.
  • Ask for money, or split a bill between friends.
  • Pay in shops with a QR code or by tapping your phone (NFC).
  • Pay online by choosing MB WAY at checkout, entering your phone number, and confirming in the app.
  • Create virtual cards (MB NET) for online shopping, for one purchase, one shop, or subscriptions.
  • Withdraw cash without a card. The app makes a code valid for 30 minutes. You can use it at a Multibanco machine, or share it with someone you trust.
  • Manage subscriptions and set a monthly limit for each shop.

Limits and fees

MB WAY limits. MB WAY's help pages say you can send up to €2,000 per transfer. Larger amounts need the "MB WAY verified" option, which uses facial recognition. You can receive up to €5,000 and 50 transfers a month. Your bank may set its own limits too.

Free app transfers. Every bank customer can make 25 free transfers a month through payment apps such as MB WAY. Each can be up to €30, and up to €150 in total that month. Above that, your bank's fee schedule applies. Check it in your bank's app or on its website.

Basic bank accounts. If you have a basic bank account (conta de serviços mínimos bancários), you get five more app transfers a month of up to €30 each.

Cash withdrawals. Multibanco machines charge no fee to holders of cards from Portuguese banks.

Using a foreign card

Foreign cards with an international brand, such as Visa or Mastercard, work at Multibanco machines and in shops. Your own bank's fees apply.

Fees at the machine. Foreign cards may be charged a fee at Portuguese cash machines. The machine must show any fee, and any currency conversion cost, before you confirm. Within the EU, your bank cannot charge more for a euro withdrawal in Portugal than at home.

Currency conversion. If your card is not in euros, the machine may offer to charge you in your own currency. You can choose. The conversion cost is not covered by the EU fee rules, so compare before you accept.

MB WAY. You need a card from a Portuguese bank that takes part. A foreign phone number is fine.

If something goes wrong

The machine keeps your card. Contact your bank straight away.

Money was taken but no cash came out. The amount is normally corrected automatically. If not, complain to the bank that issued your card, with the receipt. If you have no receipt, give the place, date, and approximate time.

You forgot to take the cash. The machine takes it back for safety. Contact your bank to have the amount corrected.

A payment you did not make. Tell your bank at once and block the card or the app. Under EU rules, you can be asked to pay at most €50 of a fraudulent payment. You pay nothing if you could not have known about the theft or misuse, for example if your card was copied.

A wrong direct debit. You can ask for a direct debit to be refunded within eight weeks.

Online payments. For online payments over €30, your bank must check two things, such as your phone and a PIN or fingerprint. Never share your MB WAY PIN or a text message code.

Complaints. Complain to your bank in writing first. It must reply within 15 days, or 35 in exceptional cases. You can also use the complaints book (Livro de Reclamações) and write to the Banco de Portugal. See How to File a Consumer Complaint in Portugal.

This guide is general information, not financial or legal advice. It does not recommend any bank or payment service. Fees and limits change; check your bank and the official sources before you act.

Sources

This guide is written from official sources and, where relevant, organisations' own websites.

Last verified October 2026. Rules and fees change; check the official source before acting.

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