Withdrawing money from an ATM on a credit card is known as a cash advance, and it nearly always attracts a cash withdrawal fee, usually of around 3%. In addition, interest is charged on cash withdrawals from the day you take the money out, sacrificing your standard interest-free period. Several other transactions - including buying stocks and shares, foreign currency and lottery tickets - are frequently treated as “cash-like” transactions by card providers and have the same rules and fees applied to them.