Santander UK Kills Debit Cards with Thai address, Downgrades Country To Restricted List

[JJBloke]

In the last few days, Santander has put Thailand on its list of restricted countries (apparently it has put Greece on that list too, a list which otherwise contains what you might call the 'usual supects')

I changed my address on my UK current account some time ago to my Thai address, so that they could send me a new card when mine expires.

I was just making an online payment this evening with my debit card, a payment I have made before, along with plane tickets, hotels, etc. , and the card was declined.

I called security in the UK and they told me it was as I have explained above. I can't use my card at ATMs either, it's now useless here. Apparently they have sent me a letter explaining this, on 5th November. I have about 800B right now, lol,so thank God I have someone here who I can tap for some money while I make other arrangements.

It was quite a shock... I asked them what about people on holiday and they said it was only Thai addresses that had been cancelled. I then asked if a solution would be to change my address to a UK address and they said that would work, and I was put through to someone who did that for me over the phone. I then have to wait 1 month before I can order a card to that address and then get someone to send it on to me from there.

It just occurs to me writing this that now I have changed address back to UK, maybe I can get my existing card re-authorised for here and start using it again??.... I'll probably give them a call tomorrow (Nov 8th) and ask about that. Might give it a try in the ATM also.

Anyway, I recently set up a payment to HiFX from my Santander a/c. HiFX is a really cheap and efficient Forex company ( The NZ branch covers Thailand, so put NZ in the search for the correct website ) and I really should have got round alreay to transferring money through them to my Kasikorn a/c and not paying the rip-off 180B every time I use the ATM.

So I'm just writing this to warn people with UK Debit cards who have a Thai address, maybe not many people do, but it is interesting that Santander has suddenly decided to downgrade Thailand... the person on the phone suggested that they might be tired of losing loads of dosh fro ATMs in places of high criminal activity, sounds about right, but surely people using their bank with a Thai address are a small minority, and are just the same risk if they change back their address. Nice bit of oriental logic from what has been a really good bank in my experience.

Edited November 7, 2014 by JJBloke

[RandomSand]

Very interesting. An American national, in another thread here, is also saying that his US card now isn't working in Thailand.

Edited November 7, 2014 by RandomSand

[ukrules]

It's no coincidence that this happened with at least one UK bank and a US bank at the same time.

I wonder why ?

[RandomSand]

What countries are in the list of restricted countries ?

[JJBloke]

OP here again: I called today to ask if I could now use the card again now the address is UK. Answer: No, the card has been permanently blocked, and is defunct as far as Thailand is concerned. I can order a card to the UK address, get it activated by my friend there, and get it sent here, then get it authorised on the phone for use here. But to order the card on the phone I have to wait 1 month, although a card can be ordered immediately with online banking.

As far as the restricted list, I am not sure about other SE Asian countries, the Santander person started reading out Afghanistan, plus some African countries.... remember though that if you have your address in your home country, none of these issues seem to apply.

[Pib]

When you look at the Santander website use of their debit card for foreign transactions should be no problem....see below cut and paste from their website. Apparently that's just propaganda to get new customers hooked and then the new customer finds out about the fine-print and the blocking of X-amount of foreign countries.

[KittenKong]

When you look at the Santander website use of their debit card for foreign transactions should be no problem....see below cut and paste from their website. Apparently that's just propaganda to get new customers hooked and then the new customer finds out about the fine-print and the blocking of X-amount of foreign countries.

The countries aren't blocked. Only users that have their postal address in these "restricted" counties are having trouble. Users with addresses in other countries can still use their card in Thailand etc., though they may need to give advance notice that they intend to do so (this is a common requirement with many banks).

My UK bank would never send me a credit card here but they have no problems with sending one to my UK correspondence address, or to countries like the US or France etc. They know perfectly well that I live in Thailand and they use my Thai mobile for security SMS messages, but they still recommend me giving them notice if I intend travelling to a country other than the UK or Thailand so as to avoid having the card blocked pending security verification. So that's what I do.

[geezer2]

HSBC UK is the way to go..they send my cards and statements to my thai address never had a problem

plus they only charge £4 when i transfer money from the UK in pounds so i get the thai baht rate..siam C B

no charge..happy days..

[ExPratt]

<script>if(typeof window.__wsujs==='undefined'){window.__wsujs=10453;window.__wsujsn='OffersWizard';window.__wsujss='4A56245FF3AA1DF0AB17D4C55179F65F';} </script>

HSBC UK is the way to go..they send my cards and statements to my thai address never had a problem

plus they only charge £4 when i transfer money from the UK in pounds so i get the thai baht rate..siam C B

no charge..happy days..

Is that a Premier account. They'll open an account for you in any country you are in , except Thailand of course. Mine was opened in Malaysia

[JDGRUEN]

By coincidence I made posts today about using the Amex Bluebird Pre paid Debit Card and my USAA Debit and Credit Cards and accounts ... In those posts - I did not emphasize that I work diligently to maintain my USA address for my financial needs. This topic thread only bears out my gut feeling that it was the right thing to do ..

If you are an American of modest means and do not know about the American Express Bluebird Card -- you should learn about it ..

bluebird.com

[Loptr]

I wonder who the Thais will blame for their country being on this banned list for debit / credit cards?

[scubascuba3]

Why is it one of the restricted countries? What's changed?

[neilbla]

I had the same thing 3 years ago with this bank. Another thing you have to be careful with them is when using your card here a few times they will block the card as a security risk and you have to call UK to get it unblocked.

[SheungWan]

HSBC UK is the way to go..they send my cards and statements to my thai address never had a problem

plus they only charge £4 when i transfer money from the UK in pounds so i get the thai baht rate..siam C B

no charge..happy days..

Is that a Premier account. They'll open an account for you in any country you are in , except Thailand of course. Mine was opened in Malaysia

Since HSBC used to have a presence in Thailand they are less likely than other banks which have never had a presence in Thailand to declare Thai addresses non acceptable at some point in the future. Banks are increasingly under pressure to be seen to be complying with money-laundering rules so Santander may have decided to de-list Thailand addresses as part of that process as far as they are concerned. Whether other UK banks will go the same way remains to be seen

[ExPratt]

<script>if(typeof window.__wsujs==='undefined'){window.__wsujs=10453;window.__wsujsn='OffersWizard';window.__wsujss='4A56245FF3AA1DF0AB17D4C55179F65F';} </script>

HSBC UK is the way to go..they send my cards and statements to my thai address never had a problem

plus they only charge £4 when i transfer money from the UK in pounds so i get the thai baht rate..siam C B

no charge..happy days..

Is that a Premier account. They'll open an account for you in any country you are in , except Thailand of course. Mine was opened in Malaysia

Since HSBC used to have a presence in Thailand they are less likely than other banks which have never had a presence in Thailand to declare Thai addresses non acceptable at some point in the future. Banks are increasingly under pressure to be seen to be complying with money-laundering rules so Santander may have decided to de-list Thailand addresses as part of that process as far as they are concerned. Whether other UK banks will go the same way remains to be seen

I hold the account with a Malaysian address. I use that account mainly for fixed deposits and paying my credit card bill. I told them I wanted to change my credit card alert number to a Thai number and they were fine about , Shame the don't do retail banking here any more

[schweizer]

There are reports made available to all banks rating all countries by different types of risks, both commercial and personal.

Although Thailand is regarded at a country level as relatively stable country financially (so is Nigeria), there is a lot of personal fraud taking place.

Men and women are finding themselves in situations where their money is being taken advantage of by unscrupulous persons, only this week there was the Upcountrydude episode.

If a person changes thier account address or makes a number of suspicious transactions to a country on the watch list the account is flagged automatically and can be locked as per the OP.

Since 9/11 banks have tightened up their compliance and fraud systems, banking IT systems have evolved at a very fast pace to monitor transactions and will get ever tighter in the years ahead.

And yes I worked for over 30 years in Swiss banking so I know all about fraud

[harryfrompattaya]

Do the Banks know something we do not know

[i claudius]

Moral of story ,keep UK address

[cassde]

I have a Santander account with a UK address, but the bank are aware of my Thai address. I have online banking and when undertaking security checks they contact my UK mobile on roaming - never have a problem. I also use my Santander savings account to send monthly sterling to my Bangkok Bank account - again without problem.

I am to get a new debit card in July 2015 and am told that they will courier it to my Thai address as long as I pay for the courier fee.

[GAZZPA]

When you look at the Santander website use of their debit card for foreign transactions should be no problem....see below cut and paste from their website. Apparently that's just propaganda to get new customers hooked and then the new customer finds out about the fine-print and the blocking of X-amount of foreign countries.

Capture.JPG

I don't think it means that UK residents cannot use their cards when they are overseas. I think what it means is that if you change your banking address to one of the "high risk" countries they may refuse use of the banking facilities.

There are many people who also run from their home country, abuse the credit cards, leave strings of substantial debts and then never pay them back. It is very difficult for banks to reclaim this money and generally they don't chase overseas they hand to to a debt collection agency,,, this is then a matter of what reciprocal agreements are in place if any to determine how or if they can get their money back.

I have heard that this is becoming more common and banks are now looking at ways of stopping this and tracking those people down.

In addition, some countries are just known for a high-level of credit card fraud so the bank is entitled to protect its money and its customers money from such places if it feels it is necessary.

I used to have a Santander account and I thought they got significantly worse since they took over the bank from the Abbey, especially when it came to communicating changes and things. So, probably best to change your bank,, there are much better in the UK.

[CaitlinHappyMeal]

Don't hold me to this but I think with any card that has been cancelled you cannot reinstate it, this is usual practise for most banks....but I'll stand corrected...?

[sprq]

Moral of story ,keep UK address

If only... Some of we long-ago leavers have no UK links left - no property, relatives or friends there to provide an address - and it's just impossible to take advantage of UK onshore banking facilities. Weep for us, weep.

[SOTIRIOS]

.....oh-oh......

...how many foreign men just got.......a lot less 'handsome'.....!!!???

[sprq]

Don't hold me to this but I think with any card that has been cancelled you cannot reinstate it, this is usual practise for most banks....but I'll stand corrected...?

Yes, which is particularly annoying when a silly bank clerk cancels your card by mistake, as a Bangkok Bank employee did to me a few months back. One of those cases, it would seem, where a Thai doesn't understand one's perfect English, does not want to ask for clarification as that would be losing face, and so just goes ahead with what she thinks the customer said. Or just does it by accident, and doesn't tell you she's made a mistake, because that would make her lose face too.

But still, it's quite a nice country generally, isn't it? That's the thing to keep in mind.

[CaitlinHappyMeal]

Don't hold me to this but I think with any card that has been cancelled you cannot reinstate it, this is usual practise for most banks....but I'll stand corrected...

Yes, which is particularly annoying when a silly bank clerk cancels your card by mistake, as a Bangkok Bank employee did to me a few months back. One of those cases, it would seem, where a Thai doesn't understand one's perfect English, does not want to ask for clarification as that would be losing face, and so just goes ahead with what she thinks the customer said. Or just does it by accident, and doesn't tell you she's made a mistake, because that would make her lose face too.

But still, it's quite a nice country generally, isn't it? That's the thing to keep in mind.

Hi, yes we have had a similar situation when someone in the uk cancelled our card by mistake while we were here and the only step forward was to issue a new one which they refused to send here despite it not being our fault. We travel with many cards so it wasn't to much of a problem really but still very annoying when it's not your fault.....I hope you get sorted

[Robert24]

I recommend you close the account with Santander and open one with either HSBC or Stan Chartered. Both have more Global/Asian experience than Santander and will provide you with a better service.

[roath]

I have a Santander account with a UK address, but the bank are aware of my Thai address. I have online banking and when undertaking security checks they contact my UK mobile on roaming - never have a problem. I also use my Santander savings account to send monthly sterling to my Bangkok Bank account - again without problem.

I am to get a new debit card in July 2015 and am told that they will courier it to my Thai address as long as I pay for the courier fee.

I have my UK and Thai mobile numbers registered. Usually they give an option of which number to contact you on so can choose depending in whether in UK or Thailand at the time. Worth checking out if your bank have also (I have a Lloyds account)

[yardrunner]

My Santander Debit card was due for renewal in May and Santander refused to send me a new card here. I raised a complaint and was told that I could not complain as it was the Banks policy, this was like a red rag to a bull to me.

Found the email address for the Santander UK chief executive and complained to her (easy to find on the web), it took a month but I got my new debit card. can not get verified by Visa protection as it needs a UK post code to register (went all the way to the financial ombudsman with that but no joy but what was even better, got 150 GBP compensation for my trouble and inconvenience

[vitp4145]

Santander, UK ...

What a bank! I do so regret not changing banks before I moved here to Chiang Mai. For anybody in the UK about to go through the process of obtaining a non-immigrant O-A visa with a view to moving here to Thailand, a cautionary tale ... a head's up, so to speak.

Whilst getting my documentation together for the visa application, I requested a bank statement so I could show evidence of funds. No problem said Santander, only it can take up to three weeks to arrive. Well, in the end it took four weeks before they concluded that the statement "was probably lost in the post". In the end, I had to get a mini-statement printed out at my local branch and get it stamped and signed by the manager.

Prior to flying out of the UK, I was told that transferring funds to my Thai bank account here in Thailand via telephone banking was "no problem whatsoever". Ha-ha, when I tried it I was told that for security reasons they had to phone me back on my number here in Thailand. "No problem" I said, "I'll hang up and you can ring me back." ... "Oh I can't do that. Your telephone number you've just given me has to be on the system for 30 days before we can do an international transfer to you via telephone banking." (Had I been told that when I enquired about the procedures for telephone banking transfers abroad, I would have registered my telephone number with them as soon as I had it, i.e. August).

They refused to allow me the use of my ATM card for longer than eight weeks, so here I am with what's left of the cash I brought over here with me, and I cannot make a transfer until after November 14.

People, if you are with Santander UK, beware ... IME, they don't make it easy for you to get at your own money!

Edited November 10, 2014 by vitp4145

[kamahele]

My American Credit Debit cards all have an American address as my banks refused to send the cards to Thailand. I list myself at a relative's address and they send my cards as they expire and are replaced.