Visa / Connect Card Warning

[Sir-Woody]

A warning to all expats using foreign back cards in ATM's

I have recently had problems using this facility and actually lost two cards in ATM's the past week.

On contact with my bank in the UK, I was advised that fraud has elevated in Thailand to a high risk factor regarding use of credit / connect cards.

Barclays bank is putting a block on clients cards being used in Thailand, I do not know what other international financial institutes are doing, but be warned that you may be left without cards / money if you use ATM's here.

To the credi to the Thia banks were I lost my cards, these were returned to me within 24 hours without any hassle, but I am now unable to use them in ATM's.

[Noel]

A warning to all expats using foreign back cards in ATM's

I have recently had problems using this facility and actually lost two cards in ATM's the past week.

On contact with my bank in the UK, I was advised that fraud has elevated in Thailand to a high risk factor regarding use of credit / connect cards.

Barclays bank is putting a block on clients cards being used in Thailand, I do not know what other international financial institutes are doing, but be warned that you may be left without cards / money if you use ATM's here.

To the credi to the Thia banks were I lost my cards, these were returned to me within 24 hours without any hassle, but I am now unable to use them in ATM's.

Just a few questions:

1. Which Thai bank(s) and where?

2. Which UK bank are you with that warned you of elevated fraud levels in Thailand?

3. When did this happen?

4. Which credit/connect cards did you use?

I personally do not bother using my UK banks' cards for cash wihdrawals, but I would be interested to know more, as may many others.

Thanks

[Sir-Woody]

A warning to all expats using foreign back cards in ATM's

I have recently had problems using this facility and actually lost two cards in ATM's the past week.

On contact with my bank in the UK, I was advised that fraud has elevated in Thailand to a high risk factor regarding use of credit / connect cards.

Barclays bank is putting a block on clients cards being used in Thailand, I do not know what other international financial institutes are doing, but be warned that you may be left without cards / money if you use ATM's here.

To the credi to the Thia banks were I lost my cards, these were returned to me within 24 hours without any hassle, but I am now unable to use them in ATM's.

Just a few questions:

1. Which Thai bank(s) and where?

2. Which UK bank are you with that warned you of elevated fraud levels in Thailand?

3. When did this happen?

4. Which credit/connect cards did you use?

I personally do not bother using my UK banks' cards for cash wihdrawals, but I would be interested to know more, as may many others.

Thanks

The Thai banks in question were Bangkok Bank & thai Farmers.

Barclays UK advised me of the elevated fraud levels which have risen the past 3 months.

My incidents have occured the past two weeks.

I was using Barclay credit / conenct cards.

Hope this answers your questions.

Just wanted to let people know, it is a very big hassle to loose cards overseas.

[macb]

Yes I agree I get my money from ATM's as it is paid into UK bank, there is cloning going on in Thailand mainly Pattaya.

And my bank will not send cards here, but I make other arrangments, other agencies send cards by courier to me.

I always use reputable ATMS and never have probem

Lets have more info on this

[Farma]

Another couple of questions.

What message did you get, if any, from the ATM machine before your cards were swallowed? IE card damaged or contact your bank.

Did you attempt to withdraw 3 or more times from that machine if the initial attempt failed?

Have you used your cards in Thailand for long time or only started using them recently?

I'm just trying to rule out your spending profile as being the cause of your problems.

Edited November 2, 2006 by Farma

[ourmanflint]

same has happened to me twice, had to call UK to release card, pain in the butt, but what else can you do??

;D

[barryofthailand]

I have never had a problem with ARM check cards from USA in Pattaya, or Bangkok. I don't do this that often, and I always try and use a Siam commercial bank ATM. If you use a government bank and the ATM swallows your card they will kill it.

Barry

[JetsetBkk]

same has happened to me twice, had to call UK to release card, pain in the butt, but what else can you do??

;D

What else can you do?

- get a Thai bank account, transfer cash using SWIFT

- use travelers cheques

- bring wads of cash

- transfer money using Western Union

[sua yai]

My Barclays connect card is the only access to money I have over here. I was having trouble with it a few months ago and then was back in the UK for a month. As the old card only had 9 months validity on it, I got a new one.

The problems here in HH have increased since I got back. I'd reckon that 50% of the time I try to use an ATM - at any bank anywhere in town - the message "Contact issuing bank" or "communication error" comes up. The only way then for me to get money is to go into a bank, or exchange booth, with my passport and the bank swipes the card through to BKK. I've never had problems then. Just makes it difficult if it's a weekend or late at night.

I've asked the major banks here what the problem is. Other than "it's your magnetic strip.Contact your bank back home", I've no other explanation. I'm sure it's the computers here crashing, so my account details can't be checked. Normally if I try again the next day, it works.

If Barclays are really doing what the OP says, I'm knackered. I'll call my bank now and see what they say.

[Farma]

When I first started travelling I found it best to notify my bank of upcoming travels. They soon build up a profile of my usage and stopped blocking my cards in every new country.

The last time my card was blocked was due to a retailer using non standard methods when processing a transaction. A quick call to the bank had it unblocked.

It happens about once every 2 years with me. I do travel a lot and use the cards regularly in some weird and wonderful places.

[sua yai]

I've just spoken to the security department at Barclays. They confirmed roughly what the OP has said.

My card was being monitored as there had been ATM transactions over here. Although I have been able to use an ATM sometimes, the card was partially blocked. So, if I was using an ATM that I hadn't been to before, it was letting me take money. After that, the particular ATM was blocked for my card. In reality, the girl said I shouldn't have been able to use an ATM at all. Going into a bank with my passport was OK though as they had proof of my identity.

As I've called Barclays and given all the security passwords etc, the card should work OK from tomorrow. I'll make sure before the banks close for the weekend!!!

As a PS, I've used Barclaybank/Connect cards here in Thailand for 8.5 years, so it's not as if the bank are seeing any unusual withdrawals.

Also,for anyone else, the international number for Barclays, open 24/7, is +44 1604 614812

[Sir-Woody]

Another couple of questions.

What message did you get, if any, from the ATM machine before your cards were swallowed? IE card damaged or contact your bank.

Did you attempt to withdraw 3 or more times from that machine if the initial attempt failed?

Have you used your cards in Thailand for long time or only started using them recently?

I'm just trying to rule out your spending profile as being the cause of your problems.

The message i got was " card suspended transaction cancelled "

The card was not returned on both occassions, I only attempted the transaction once

I expected 3 attempts before my card was kept, this was not the case.

After the first time I contacted Barclays in the UK and was advised that the block would be removed to allow me to use my card.

The very next time I tried I lost the card again.

Yes you can withdraw money from the bank but that means taking your passport every time you go out and you are tied to banking hours for withdrawals.

I have used this card in Thailand for several years without a problem.

[Farma]

Thanks for the update. It sounds like the banks are having problems similar to ones in Malaysia not so long back.

[Richard W]

Yes you can withdraw money from the bank but that means taking your passport every time you go out ...

That's terrible! Fancy having to comply with the law!

[briley]

As an aside don't forget that if your bank uses a free-phone number (0800 in UK or 800 in many other countries) you can use skype to call them free even if you have no credit etc. Saved me a bit when I spent 45 minutes calling BT in the UK a while back.

[stiggy]

Recently had cards stopped after UK bank noticed we are using in Thailand..Ie mainly ATM withdrawalls.

The strange thing is our AC is offshore and our postal adress is in Thailand? we have also been spending the same for over 10yrs now Yup all from Thai ATMs.

However on investigation it seemed someone had tryed to Max out the cards from Bangkok..luckily at the time I was in Malaysia so could prove not us.

Its a major pain in the ass to have to stop cards etc .The bank was resonably good about it once we managed to speak to someone in the poxy automated outsourced customer service dept(another story).

Bottom line part of life nowdays there are a lot of shi88bags out there cloning cards etc,We now have three acs two never used but can rely on one whilst another is stopped for potential fraud.

[taxexile]

i have had uk visa cards stopped here after trying to make purchases in stores with them.

i dont use them here at all now.

have a thai atm card and pay cash for everything , find that my finances run smoother and my expenses are much less too , you tend to consider purchases a bit more carefully. not a bad thing.

barclaycard uk said it was because of persistent cloning and fraud here , plus the fact that storekeepers and cashiers rarely go through any security checks here.

my wife uses her sisters credit card regularly here , often signs her own name by mistake and it has only been picked up once , when the cashier just said you have signed the wrong name , can you sign again. no id was asked for at all. it was a 15000b transaction as well. ( it was at the emporium by the way).

[tk47]

I've just spoken to the security department at Barclays. They confirmed roughly what the OP has said.

My card was being monitored as there had been ATM transactions over here. Although I have been able to use an ATM sometimes, the card was partially blocked. So, if I was using an ATM that I hadn't been to before, it was letting me take money. After that, the particular ATM was blocked for my card. In reality, the girl said I shouldn't have been able to use an ATM at all. Going into a bank with my passport was OK though as they had proof of my identity.

As I've called Barclays and given all the security passwords etc, the card should work OK from tomorrow. I'll make sure before the banks close for the weekend!!!

As a PS, I've used Barclaybank/Connect cards here in Thailand for 8.5 years, so it's not as if the bank are seeing any unusual withdrawals.

Also,for anyone else, the international number for Barclays, open 24/7, is +44 1604 614812

Thanks for that number for Barclays.

I've also had problems withdrawing cash using my connect card and it took me 5 days and umpteen attempts to get 10k Baht from a bank and that was TMB Bank.

Sheesh!! So hard to get your own money from the bar stewards at times!!

[doctormann]

I've had problems using UK debit cards in Thailand a few times over the last couple of years. The error messages on the ATM tend to vary - sometimes I get a 'Communications Error', sometimes a 'Contact Issuing Bank' message and, lately, just a 'Transaction Cancelled' message. I've never actually had a card 'eaten' by the machine though, yet.

The reasons for the problem are almost always blockage of the card by the issuing bank - but sometimes there seems to be a genuine comms error, or something, because the card sometimes works in a different machine or works on the following day.

My issuing bank (Barclays) assures me that the card blockages are for my protection against fraud and I accept this. However, it's still very inconvenient, to say the least, when you need cash and can't get it.

So, my soution to the problem is, in future, not to use the UK card in Thailand. I have an account with TMB here and an international debit card comes with that so, as long as I have cash in the TMB I should have no problem. Monthly top-ups via SWIFT will be the way to go, I think, and this will also keep Immigration happy as I can show regular cash deposits from outside of Thailand (for 'retirement' visa extensions).

I just wonder though how much of a problem there will be for people on holiday here? We have all got used to being able to go to the 'hole in the wall' and get cash, just about anywhere in the world. Perhaps Travellers Cheques will become the norm, as they once were.

DM