Bangkok Bank Be1st Debit Card – Not valid for international transactions – Help Please

[Monkie Business]

 

I have a Bangkok Bank Be1st Smart Mastercard Debit card ( chip and Pin ) and I have recently used that debit card number to apply for a British passport renewal . I have just received this message from the UK passport office where my passport is currently at ......[ We have been unable to process payment for £118.51 ] and then his message ....**Please note that payment is taken in the UK, so we would advise you to check with your card provider that the card you intend to pay with is valid for international transactions**

 

In the past I have used the same Bangkok Bank Be1st Smart Mastercard Debit card to pay for items on Ebay based in the UK . And my monthly private health insurance payment is taken from the same Bangkok Bank Be1st Smart Mastercard Debit card without a problem from the UK company.

 

I telephoned the Bangkok Bank help line and was told to visit the Bangkok Bank branch where the Be1st Smart Mastercard Debit card was originally issued .

 

As my Bangkok Bank branch is a 180 km round trip from my home I thought before I set out and go to my Bangkok Bank branch to ask questions as to why my Be1st Smart Mastercard Debit could not be used by the UK passport office. I thought I would ask others here for advice or suggestions on this situation. 

 

Thanks

[dick turpin]

Forget the word "smart" when using BKK debit card.

[Monkie Business]

56 minutes ago, dick turpin said:

Forget the word "smart" when using BKK debit card.

Spot On ????

I managed to find a mobile phone number of the customer service person at Bangkok Bank branch where I originally set up the debit card and they speak decent English . So I telephoned him and described my current problem with the debit card and the UK passport office requesting a payment using my debit card number.  The guy said that if your Bangkok Bank  Be1st  Mastercard Debit card works in a Thailand ATM machine and you have not set your daily debit card transaction limit to low ( minimum automatically set at 5,000 Baht ) then automatically any international use of the debit card should work. One thing he did say was that Bangkok Bank is currently undergoing a maintenance period and that period ends on the 11th of this month. He went on to say that Bangkok Bank also has standard daily maintenance periods ( around midnight ) and should an international transaction be requested out side of Thailand during one of these maintenance periods , the transaction may be refused. 

 

I’m still not sure whats going on.????
 

 

[Don Mega]

Is the name on the card your or just a generic one ?

[Monkie Business]

3 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

Is the name on the card your or just a generic one ?

Thanks ????

 

My Bangkok Bank Be1st debit card only shows a number no name - which when I first received it I was wondering why my name was not shown on the card 

[Don Mega]

1 minute ago, Monkie Business said:

Thanks ????

 

My Bangkok Bank Be1st debit card only shows a number no name - which when I first received it I was wondering why my name was not shown on the card 

ask them to issue a card with your name on it, it will cost you but helps massively when using online as a "credit' card.

[Monkie Business]

1 minute ago, Don Mega said:

ask them to issue a card with your name on it, it will cost you but helps massively when using online as a "credit' card.

Thanks for the tip , its some thing I'm going to do ????

 

I wonder if not having my name on the debit card I submitted to the UK passport office may in some way play a part in the debit card being refused for an international payment in the UK.

[oMega69]

Its a No Name - Non-personalized card.. this card is pre-made and not stores the account holder or addresses on the EMV-chip or the magnetic strip . . .

 

This card is brilliant abroad if u want to stay Anonymously ????

 

 

[CLS]

Usually I have no issues to use my BBL Mastercard Debit card for international transactions. But some European merchants I came across or their financial institutions that process the transaction use a kind of geoblocking to protect from fraud. You as buyer or the issuing bank cannot influence that.
 

Explanation of card numbers:
https://money.stackexchange.com/questions/29779/what-do-the-numbers-on-my-credit-debit-card-mean/29780

 

BIN/IIN codes lookup: (559888 for your card)
https://binlists.com/559888

Edited July 10, 2020 by CLS

[GarryP]

Has anyone used their BBL Be 1st card in the UK recently? I will be visiting the UK later this year and do not wish to carry lots of cash on me and I understand that many places are now cashless.