I discovered today, after a near heart attack, what to do when the ATM says, "contact the issuing bank" BEFORE you have entered the pin.

I went rushing off to my bank with passport, bank books etc fearing the worst!

I told the young chap behind the desk at the bank my problem that I had been told to contact my bank after inserting the card in the ATM. He said, "did you enter your PIN"?

I said "NO", so he just picked up a pencil rubber, rubbed it over the chip, smiled and said try it at the ATM.

It worked!

Mate, if all of our bank problems were so simple.

57 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

Mate, if all of our bank problems were so simple.

It was frightening to me at first as I thought that my Thai accounts might have been about to be closed given what is going on with bank accounts in Thailand and worldwide!

To find such a simple solution was, to me, a great relief and I hope it will also be such to others who unfortunately find themselves in the same situation!

All I have attempted to do with my original post was to help any others who may receive the same ATM message!

1 hour ago, scottiejohn said:

I discovered today, after a near heart attack, what to do when the ATM says, "contact the issuing bank" BEFORE you have entered the pin.

I went rushing off to my bank with passport, bank books etc fearing the worst!

I told the young chap behind the desk at the bank my problem that I had been told to contact my bank after inserting the card in the ATM. He said, "did you enter your PIN"?

I said "NO", so he just picked up a pencil rubber, rubbed it over the chip, smiled and said try it at the ATM.

It worked!

You could make a short movie about that .

The chip gets dirty and the machine is unable to read it , rubbing it with a rubber cleans it

7 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

You could make a short movie about that .

The chip gets dirty and the machine is unable to read it , rubbing it with a rubber cleans it

That is what I was trying to explain to those, like me, who did not know of this simple solution!

Smart arse comments like yours are NOT appreciated by those who are uninitiated into your great self-proclaimed wisdom!

Use the app and you'll never get that message

2 hours ago, scottiejohn said:

I told the young chap behind the desk at the bank my problem that I had been told to contact my bank after inserting the card in the ATM.

I didn't even get that far. The security guy manning the queue ticket machine did the eraser trick, and even walked out to the ATM with me to check it had worked, which it had.

I got this message last week. I thought it was after I had entered my PIN, but might have been wrong. This was K-Bank.

I often get this message. I just wipe the chip with my shirt and put it in again and it always works. Saves carrying an eraser around.

On 8/4/2026 at 4:47 PM, scottiejohn said:

I discovered today, after a near heart attack, what to do when the ATM says, "contact the issuing bank" BEFORE you have entered the pin.

I went rushing off to my bank with passport, bank books etc fearing the worst!

I told the young chap behind the desk at the bank my problem that I had been told to contact my bank after inserting the card in the ATM. He said, "did you enter your PIN"?

I said "NO", so he just picked up a pencil rubber, rubbed it over the chip, smiled and said try it at the ATM.

It worked!

Same happened to me. Just clean the chip on the card

On 8/4/2026 at 4:47 PM, scottiejohn said:

I discovered today, after a near heart attack, what to do when the ATM says, "contact the issuing bank" BEFORE you have entered the pin.

I went rushing off to my bank with passport, bank books etc fearing the worst!

I told the young chap behind the desk at the bank my problem that I had been told to contact my bank after inserting the card in the ATM. He said, "did you enter your PIN"?

I said "NO", so he just picked up a pencil rubber, rubbed it over the chip, smiled and said try it at the ATM.

It worked!

Got in a tizzy did we Scottie ,that's what I call Karma ,take care

regards worgeordie

Magic Thai pencil erasers. 😀

On 8/5/2026 at 10:49 AM, JayClay said:

I often get this message. I just wipe the chip with my shirt and put it in again and it always works. Saves carrying an eraser around.

So, it depends on the type of eraser is used? I must remember that and employ the easiest and cheapest!

On 8/4/2026 at 6:59 PM, scubascuba3 said:

Use the app and you'll never get that message

I noticed this response had a thumbs down and a question mark.

You can use your banking app on your phone to withdraw cash from an ATM in Thailand. On my KBank app it's the Withdraw/Deposit button. Authorisation is by reading a QR code on the ATM screen with the app. There is no need to carry your debit card.

On 8/4/2026 at 6:23 PM, Nick Carter icp said:

You could make a short movie about that .

The chip gets dirty and the machine is unable to read it , rubbing it with a rubber cleans it

That's an eraser? Me and my American friends think of a rubber as something quite different!🤣

I’ve switched from using the card to “cardless withdrawals”.

22 minutes ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

That's an eraser? Me and my American friends think of a rubber as something quite different!🤣

You could probably use a latex condom, preferably unused.

On 8/4/2026 at 6:23 PM, Nick Carter icp said:

You could make a short movie about that .

The chip gets dirty and the machine is unable to read it , rubbing it with a rubber cleans it

A rubber band works.

1 hour ago, IsaanT said:

I noticed this response had a thumbs down and a question mark.

You can use your banking app on your phone to withdraw cash from an ATM in Thailand. On my KBank app it's the Withdraw/Deposit button. Authorisation is by reading a QR code on the ATM screen with the app. There is no need to carry your debit card.

Right. I never carry my cards anymore. I use Krungsri Bank and always withdraw at ATMs using my phone. Easy peasy.

They use a 6 digit code though, not QR. Same same, butt different 😁

Edited August 7Aug 7 by thaibreaker

I keep my ATM card in the little sleeve the banks give you. Never had that problem.

So, the card gets dirty, corrode, whatever, and won't work, you clean it up and it does..... great, and understandable.

BUT, what about the contacts inside the ATM? They must get dirty too. Does anyone clean them? How often? or is there a mechanism in the machine that wipes them off?

6 minutes ago, Grusa said:

BUT, what about the contacts inside the ATM? They must get dirty too. Does anyone clean them? How often? or is there a mechanism in the machine that wipes them off?

Use a cleaning card as part of the maintenance.

https://nationallinkatm.com/resources/emv-card-reader-maintenance/

On 8/4/2026 at 6:16 PM, scottiejohn said:

It was frightening to me at first as I thought that my Thai accounts might have been about to be closed given what is going on with bank accounts in Thailand and worldwide!

To find such a simple solution was, to me, a great relief and I hope it will also be such to others who unfortunately find themselves in the same situation!

All I have attempted to do with my original post was to help any others who may receive the same ATM message!

Cheers Bud.