My U.s. Atm Card Won't Work In Thailand... Help!

[Weho]

All of the sudden my U.S. bank-issued ATM card won't work here in Thailand. I get the error message "Data incomplete on card". This is the same at all atm machines from different banks i've tried to use here. My U.S. bank says many asian countries are having problems, but a friend has had this problem for 3 months. He can get money from his card, by going inside a branch, and doing a withdrawal manually, but it takes a lot of time, and isn't convenient. Just curious if anyone knows if this is a Thai problem, and if so, seems there should be some outrage about this. I had to pay a $40 fee to wire money cause i couldn't get cash. Oh dear! Any help appreciated.

[lanny]

How old is your card and how often have you used it?

I had a similar problem with one of my Thai cards -- got the same message: "Data incomplete on card." When I complained at the bank, the manager told me that it seemed to be a problem for the machine to read the data. That happens as, with time, the magnetic charge fades.

[lopburi3]

Atm or debit card? Cirrus? Plus? Visa?

I assume it was working before so you know how to use the ATM's and that you are using machines that have your clearance system indicated/worked before. I have not used my debit card for several years but have not seen any reports of anyone suddenly having a problem. Perhaps the magnetic strip on your card has become damaged? Do you keep it in a slip case when not in use?

But if you bank is reporting Asia wide problem it sounds as if there is a data bank access problem that may be resolved. Hopefully.

If all your access attempts have been in the same time period I would try a few hours earlier or later and see if it works.

[britmaveric]

Contact your bank, perhaps they blocked Thailand for a fraud alert.

[Crossy]

Contact your bank, perhaps they blocked Thailand for a fraud alert.

I think there was another thread on this subject (although I can't find it) making exactly that observation.

Some US banks appear to have pulled the plug on all Thai ATM transactions.

EDIT: This one http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=62066

Edited March 11, 2006 by Crossy

[zoltannyc]

There is world-wide wave of ATM-Debit card fraud, therfore big US banks shut down most foreign ATM operations in countries known as ATM fraud heavens.

Unfortunately it seems that LOS is one of those.

see

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,125053,00.asp

or search google news for ATM fraud

http://news.google.com/news?ie=UTF-8&q=atm...aud&sa=N&tab=wn

Edited March 11, 2006 by zoltannyc

[dclaryjr]

There is world-wide wave of ATM-Debit card fraud, therfore big US banks shut down most foreign ATM operations in countries known as ATM fraud heavens.

Unfortunately it seems that LOS is one of those.

see

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,125053,00.asp

or search google news for ATM fraud

http://news.google.com/news?ie=UTF-8&q=atm...aud&sa=N&tab=wn

Well that's just great news!

For years, my brother-in-law was using an ATM card from my credit union to retrieve money from a special account I set up just for that purpose. The card went bad so I decided to go with Wells Fargo because they have a special military account that allows four withdrawals a month from any machine world wide. They should be getting the new card just about now. Hopefully it will work. In the interim I did a SWIFT transfer that I was told was going to cost me $35 but when it processed they only charged $15. I sent a second one and the same thing happened. So I just may end up staying with the wire transfers and telling my b-i-l to just chop up the plastic.

[PREM-R]

I had a similar problem several months ago, I went to an ATM of SCB at a Jet petrol station in Khon Kaen to use my UK Nationwide ATM card and got the same "data on card incomplete" message.

Tried again and same message so I went into the city and found another SCB machine and the money paid out OK. I have used the card many times since and only had problems at the Jet station, (although not every time) so I assume it is a problem with the machine rather than with the card.

[BKK90210]

No problem with my atm card from "Bank of America" & "Washington Mutual" in Thailand

Edited March 13, 2006 by BKK90210

[Heng]

The "data incomplete" message SOMETIMES (at least once for me, with one of my Bank of America atm cards) means there is a hold placed on your account by the bank. You need to call them up and confirm that you are you, are overseas, indeed withdrawing the max amount every day for 30+ days in a row, etc.

"Communication error" typically just means the problem is with a particular machine and almost always I've been able to use a different machine immediately.