Any Atms Here With 'pin Services?'

[MKAsok]

Okay, here's the scenario:

Went into SCB Asoke to get a cash advance on a UK issued CC. I have the PIN, but, usually, they don't ask for this when you go in the bank with your passport. The girl took the card off to a card reader, didn't ask me for a PIN, but must have typed some gibberish into the machine 3 times because my PIN got blocked. She came back and told me 'declined' which obviously wasn't true, since the reality was she had just blocked my PIN, and this was the real reason. Schlepped back to my apartment, called the bank, who unblocked the PIN, but then told me I had to put the card in an ATM that had 'PIN services' and select 'Unblock PIN,' in order for the PIN to be completely unblocked 'both ends' (the bank's end and my end - why this is necessary (to unblock it 'my end') is frankly, completely beyond me - along with 90% of the rest of my bank's insane 'security requirements').

My question is this: Does anyone know of any Thai banks with ATMs that offer this service for foreign cards? Failing this, I'm left with a CC card that's effectively useless (assuming a transaction that requires a PIN) until I can return to the UK and use an ATM there to complete this ludicrous operation (not going to happen any time soon).

Assuming the worst case scenario, does anyone know (Asoke or near-ish area) of any banks that currently definitely don't require a PIN when you go in with your passport to make a cash withdrawal (this never used to be a requirement).

Thanks all

mk

[girlx]

you can usually go to an exchange place and get a cash withdrawal on your card without a pin- i have done it a few times.

[robblok]

you can usually go to an exchange place and get a cash withdrawal on your card without a pin- i have done it a few times.

I find that real real scary. I was always under the impression if i lost my card nobody could do a thing with it unless they knew my pin.

[noise]

Okay, here's the scenario:

.....then told me I had to put the card in an ATM that had 'PIN services' and select 'Unblock PIN,' in order for the PIN to be completely unblocked 'both ends' (......my end - why this is necessary (to unblock it 'my end') ....

I have never heard of "Thailand" blocking a pin; all the expat tales of woe I have heard have been about cards being blocked by their overseas bank and that once that bank reactivates the pin/card transactions go through.

1. Have you tried to use the CC in an ATM to see if your pin was really blocked in Thailand?

and if it was/or you haven't tried....

2. Have you thought about going back to the bank at which this occurred and ask them, since they caused the blockage, to make sure there was no bank blockage?

[longball53098]

Is it possible the OP's bank instructions about using the card in an ATM were not clear? If they "unblocked" the card in their system and now they are asking him to use the card with the pin number to "re-activate" that card in their system again. This will effectively "unblock" the card on the user end and re-establish the card in their system again.

Anytime I get a new debit/atm card the instruction sheet that comes with the card says "to activate this card please call this number and follow the prompts or use the card in any atm"

I think the system just needs to see that card in the database again and do an authorization to "activate" it again.

[MKAsok]

you can usually go to an exchange place and get a cash withdrawal on your card without a pin- i have done it a few times.

Thanks gx, this certainly used to be the case, but now every bank in my area: SCB, Kasikorn etc. are demanding the PIN for cash withdrawals inside the bank even with your passport. I don't think it's that they particularly care about PINs, more that the (obviously new) equipment they're using just won't physically allow the transaction on a PIN enabled card (most Thai cards have no chip, so obviously it's not an issue with them) without the PIN being entered. This is why I was asking if anyone knew a specific bank where they don't use 'new-style' PIN readers to contact the 'bank network' to get the authorisation. The ones (the same ones that are still being used in most shops - although some, I can think of B2S in particular - are using the new ones) where they just stick the card in and it contacts the bank, authorises and prints the receipt. There seems to be alot of confusion here about PINs. Even in shops that have the new-style readers, more than once I've had to stop someone trying to type in gibberish because it would have blocked my PIN. I think with Thai issued bank cards with no PIN chip, there is some kind of 'vendors code' or something they type in to activate the process.

Okay, here's the scenario:

.....then told me I had to put the card in an ATM that had 'PIN services' and select 'Unblock PIN,' in order for the PIN to be completely unblocked 'both ends' (......my end - why this is necessary (to unblock it 'my end') ....

I have never heard of "Thailand" blocking a pin; all the expat tales of woe I have heard have been about cards being blocked by their overseas bank and that once that bank reactivates the pin/card transactions go through.

This is the case. She entered the PIN incorrectly 3 times and the PIN became blocked by my bank, but apparently (and this is something I was never aware of), the PIN also becomes blocked on the chip in your card. The bank then has to unblock it their end, but you also have to unblock the chip in your card by using 'PIN Services' in an ATM, thus my original question.

1. Have you tried to use the CC in an ATM to see if your pin was really blocked in Thailand?

Yes, any attempted transaction says 'cancelled by issuing bank.' The PIN isn't just 'blocked in Thailand,' it's blocked on the chip on the card. It's not a geographical issue.

and if it was/or you haven't tried....

2. Have you thought about going back to the bank at which this occurred and ask them, since they caused the blockage, to make sure there was no bank blockage?

Nothing to do with the bank apparently - the PIN is blocked on your home bank's computer and on the chip on the card, this is what they mean by unblocking it 'both ends.'

Is it possible the OP's bank instructions about using the card in an ATM were not clear? If they "unblocked" the card in their system and now they are asking him to use the card with the pin number to "re-activate" that card in their system again. This will effectively "unblock" the card on the user end and re-establish the card in their system again.

Anytime I get a new debit/atm card the instruction sheet that comes with the card says "to activate this card please call this number and follow the prompts or use the card in any atm"

I think the system just needs to see that card in the database again and do an authorization to "activate" it again.

This is what I always believed to be the case. I said to the girl on the phone, "So, you've unblocked it your end, all I have to do is put it in an ATM, enter my PIN and everything will be fine again, right?" WRONG. It just can't be that simple with a bank. There's always one extra step, 'the step of impossibility' that you have to go through with bank security, which is getting so insane that half the time it seems you can't even access your own bank account any more (despite providing copies of your passport, answering 387 security questions etc). This step is: putting it in an ATM with 'PIN Services,' selecting the aforementioned PIN Services, and selecting 'unblock PIN.' Of course, it's becoming increasingly clear to me that the ATMs with such 'PIN Services' only exist in my bank's home country. Thus the dilemma.

Yeah, I can still use my card with shops etc that don't require a PIN, but the number that do is fast increasing. The only solution I can think of (assuming no-one can answer my original question) is posting the card back to the UK, getting someone to go through this process, and then posting it back to me. Utterly ridiculous. But then that just about sums it up for the way most banks operate now.

Anyway, if you're a resident here and you use foreign issued cards, beware of this problem...

mk

[girlx]

Thanks gx, this certainly used to be the case, but now every bank in my area: SCB, Kasikorn etc. are demanding the PIN for cash withdrawals inside the bank even with your passport.

my friend just did it a day or so ago, i think at big c ratchadamri... i will ask her where exactly...

[girlx]

hmm she says she can't remember... it was one of the banks in central world. they only ask for id.

[Groongthep]

Okay, here's the scenario:

Went into SCB Asoke to get a cash advance on a UK issued CC. I have the PIN, but, usually, they don't ask for this when you go in the bank with your passport.

MKAsok, I'm trying to figure out why, if you had a credit card with a PIN, you didn't just simply use your card in the ATM instead of going inside and going through all the hassle at the counter/desk?

[MKAsok]

hmm she says she can't remember... it was one of the banks in central world. they only ask for id.

No probs, I'm sure I'll find somewhere. Cheers anyway.

Okay, here's the scenario:

Went into SCB Asoke to get a cash advance on a UK issued CC. I have the PIN, but, usually, they don't ask for this when you go in the bank with your passport.

MKAsok, I'm trying to figure out why, if you had a credit card with a PIN, you didn't just simply use your card in the ATM instead of going inside and going through all the hassle at the counter/desk?

Because the ATM won't let me withdraw 50,000 baht in one day.

[Groongthep]

Okay, here's the scenario:

Went into SCB Asoke to get a cash advance on a UK issued CC. I have the PIN, but, usually, they don't ask for this when you go in the bank with your passport.

MKAsok, I'm trying to figure out why, if you had a credit card with a PIN, you didn't just simply use your card in the ATM instead of going inside and going through all the hassle at the counter/desk?

Because the ATM won't let me withdraw 50,000 baht in one day.

Makes sense. You didn't mention that. Good luck in getting it straightened out.

[jfchandler]

This is why I was asking if anyone knew a specific bank where they don't use 'new-style' PIN readers to contact the 'bank network' to get the authorisation. The ones (the same ones that are still being used in most shops - although some, I can think of B2S in particular - are using the new ones) where they just stick the card in and it contacts the bank, authorises and prints the receipt. There seems to be alot of confusion here about PINs. Even in shops that have the new-style readers, more than once I've had to stop someone trying to type in gibberish because it would have blocked my PIN. I think with Thai issued bank cards with no PIN chip, there is some kind of 'vendors

This raises an interesting side issue... Some of us..many perhaps...have "rewards" checking accounts from U.S. banks where we get pretty high interest rates on our balances in exchange for meeting certain criteria...One of those typically is using the debit card associated with the account to make anywhere from 10-13 PIN based debit card transactions per month, usually for any amount.

In the U.S., that's easy, since virtually all gas stations, grocery stores and many other shops allow debit card based PIN transactions. Thailand, however, seems to be a different world about this.

At most stores and shops, you certainly can use credit cards (Thai or international), and Thai bank debit cards. But I've found few here that allow debit card PIN transactions using U.S. bank cards. The reference above seems to be suggesting that perhaps B2S stores allow that???

More broadly, does anyone have any clarity about local places that accept PIN transactions using non-Thai bank debit cards???

[MKAsok]

Good luck in getting it straightened out.

Thanks, I appreciate that. It's not a huge deal, I have other cards, it just means that one of my main ones is effectively out of commission with anything that requires a PIN. The whole 'doing most of your banking in another country' thing is, frankly, a monumental pain in the nuts. I have Thai accounts, but you obviously don't get the same level of services, access to credit etc. that you do from your home country where you've spent years building up credit ratings etc.

[MKAsok]

At most stores and shops, you certainly can use credit cards (Thai or international), and Thai bank debit cards. But I've found few here that allow debit card PIN transactions using U.S. bank cards. The reference above seems to be suggesting that perhaps B2S stores allow that???

More broadly, does anyone have any clarity about local places that accept PIN transactions using non-Thai bank debit cards???

B2S definitely require a PIN with a credit card. I've no idea about debit cards since I'd never ever use a debit card here to pay for anything (just too much risk of someone emptying your whole account). I have come across quite a few other places that are now requiring PINs, but can't think of them offhand. B2S sticks in my mind because I use it alot. The number of places (big stores mainly) requiring PINs is definitely rising fairly quickly.

[longball53098]

I think maybe you are going to do what you thought and post the card back home and have a trusted person unblock the card for you and post it back again. Of course this posting and registered will cost you a bunch unless you know of someone that can hand carry it for you when they fly home for a week or so.

I guess I can understand the theory of using an ATM or other reader/writer device to unblock the card. The chip has a memory and it's is now in a blocked state and it takes a command from you on the pin pad to tell the writer to unblock the pin on the card chip. The bank unblocked your pin in the banks system and that will allow you to get access to the system that would allow unblocking the card. Extra level of security in these new chip cards I guess^^^^^^^^^^^good luck.