B1st ATM Card now blocked in USA

[elephant45]

Hello,

Just come back to USA to find out from BKK Bank that the B1st Card will not work anywhere at all in any ATM or even inside a card reader. I tried many ATM's and one guy at the Bank said that Thailand is blocked. Customer service through telephone numbers on back of cards (credit and B1st never answer phone after seven or more calls, so for this info this I had to call the bank manager assistant to find out. She said "Sorry it is blocked for this year" Oh well Mai pen rai, will get a sign and beg for food.....

[MadMac]

You would have needed to activate the card before and for use abroad. Even if you tried, it may not have worked. Had the same cr*p with SCB, they said it's activated but it was not. Always carry 3 or 4 options (ATM, CC, different banks, different issuing country) when traveling.

[lopburi3]

This is the mag strip or chip version? The international BBL card now seems to be a six digit PIN chip version marked UnionPay. The USA is currently making the change to chip cards (in case of my bank with 2 weeks notice) so appears there is a major and immediate shift in USA at this time.

Edited May 31, 2016 by lopburi3

[elephant45]

its a brand new chip card....lost my other chip card and just got anew one three weeks ago.

[MadMac]

its a brand new chip card....lost my other chip card and just got anew one three weeks ago.

So did you let them activate it for use abroad or not? If not that's your explanation.

[elephant45]

I did the online activation thing but they said the card is blocked in the USA both at the banks here and at BKK Bank Thailand. From all sources...."Blocked, NO MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[elephant45]

I am not any idiot that never travels abroad have been to over 60 countries and worked abroad for 20 years...It doesn't work!....Period!

[MadMac]

No such thing as online activation, that is for local usage only. Need to go to a branch or call for international usage.

And they were right with their answer. It's blocked due to the missing activation.

[elephant45]

Wrong

[elephant45]

Used it in Singapore and South Africa. Credit card worked OK also, no if my credit card doesn't work i am really screwed. yes i diod teh onpine purchase activation but that has nothing to do with the ATM. The Bank manager at Harbour Branch, Pipat knows his stuff and is very worried about this.

[MadMac]

If you got a new card you would have to activate that new card to make it working outside Thailand. But believe what you want, up to you

[wooloomooloo]

You would have needed to activate the card before and for use abroad. Even if you tried, it may not have worked. Had the same cr*p with SCB, they said it's activated but it was not. Always carry 3 or 4 options (ATM, CC, different banks, different issuing country) when traveling.

Nail on head, MadMac. Cash in pocket and various other methods for withdrawing cash or obtaining credit as a safety net.

Don't rely on one method alone as it could end in a very painful and costly experience when abroad.

By the way, don't forget your travel insurance.

[elektrified]

Here's one... The wife just got a new BBL debit card from her work (not from the bank). It has her photo and company info on it. They told her that her her chipped BBL card would not work in 30 days. O.K. 300 Baht down the drain.. But, when she tried using it another bank it was not recognized. She went to the bank the next day and was told that it could only be used at BBL ATM's and could not be used abroad!

[MadMac]

Well, never say never, everything is possible. As I said I had the same problem with my SCB ATM at Frankfurt airport 3 weeks ago. Just did not work, even though they said it was activated at the branch on Hang Dong Rd, bit further down from Central Airport on the left. They probably meant the CC, as I showed them both. That is not a standard thing they have in their scripts and they obliviously fail to do what is asked because they just don't know it as part of their daily work. Does not mean they would not tell you some BS that all is good and done.

Edited May 31, 2016 by MadMac

[Chicog]

I find it quite bizarre as I have cards from three different banks and each one of them seems to work in a particular set of ATMs that are unique to each one.

I'm guessing it's more about interbank fees than anything, much like mobile roaming agreements.

[Hugh Jarse]

If you got a new card you would have to activate that new card to make it working outside Thailand. But believe what you want, up to you

Had an internet purchase also declined recently. Apparantly SCB say coz. it needs to be activated for internet use also. This was for an Air Asia ticket and had to pay at the local 7/11 plus a further fee on top! AaaaaaaaaaaH! took over an hour to sort it!

[Hugh Jarse]

Well, never say never, everything is possible. As I said I had the same problem with my SCB ATM at Frankfurt airport 3 weeks ago. Just did not work, even though they said it was activated at the branch on Hang Dong Rd, bit further down from Central Airport on the left. They probably meant the CC, as I showed them both. That is not a standard thing they have in their scripts and they obliviously fail to do what is asked because they just don't know it as part of their daily work. Does not mean they would not tell you some BS that all is good and done.

Thats scary especially if you needed to pay for a flight home urgently.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Aren't you glad you're paying the various Thai banks 200-300 baht per year or more as the fee for the privilege of having their cards...and all the joys that come along with it... Not working abroad, not working at other Thai banks' ATMs, not accepted for online purchases, etc etc.

[MadMac]

UOB card worked, they just activated it as they were asked to. But if you have only one card you are screwed.

[dingdongrb]

My older (non chip) BKK Bank card cracked in two so I had to go get a new card. I went to my home branch (Big C Hangdong). Even though I have had the old card for many years without any issues the bank would not accept me using my Thai driver's license in order to get a new card, they needed my passport even though they had my passport on file when I originally opened the account. So a trip home to get the passport.

The new card they provided me was the new Be1st chip card. It was activated at the branch upon receipt. I came to find out later that it didn't work in non BKK Bank ATMs. I asked my branch about this when I made another trip there a few weeks later. They said that's true, the new chip cards will only work in BKK Bank ATMs. No reason why and I didn't really ask as there seems to be BKK Bank ATMs everywhere. (And as I stated in a different post I try to use just a select few regular ones for security purposes.)

I have used it once online when I signed up for Microsoft 365 for a new PC I purchased nearly a year ago. No issue there.

I have traveled out of the country but when doing so I use my US issued card.

[Dante99]

Banking is obviously from this and other threads complicated for many and subject to change without notice. Use cash.

[lopburi3]

My older (non chip) BKK Bank card cracked in two so I had to go get a new card. I went to my home branch (Big C Hangdong). Even though I have had the old card for many years without any issues the bank would not accept me using my Thai driver's license in order to get a new card, they needed my passport even though they had my passport on file when I originally opened the account. So a trip home to get the passport.

The new card they provided me was the new Be1st chip card. It was activated at the branch upon receipt. I came to find out later that it didn't work in non BKK Bank ATMs. I asked my branch about this when I made another trip there a few weeks later. They said that's true, the new chip cards will only work in BKK Bank ATMs. No reason why and I didn't really ask as there seems to be BKK Bank ATMs everywhere. (And as I stated in a different post I try to use just a select few regular ones for security purposes.)

I have used it once online when I signed up for Microsoft 365 for a new PC I purchased nearly a year ago. No issue there.

I have traveled out of the country but when doing so I use my US issued card.

The reason it would only work in BBL ATM's was they were the only Thai bank using chips until a month ago and only (most) or there machines had been converted to accept them. Now the country is changing to chips for all newly issued cards so most ATM's will likely accept.

[chris1010]

hi has anyone used there Be1st chip card. in another country ie England? thanks

[prism]

I recently changed my old Be1st card to a chip card. The branch didn't have any the Visa ones so they issued me a Union Pay one with the 6 digit PIN. It wouldn't work at the local PTT station so I found a BBL branch that had the Visa ones and I swapped it. Works fine now and it's also working on non BBL ATMs. Haven't tried it overseas yet but the old one worked in the U.S. mostly.

[janejira]

I went to Bangkok Bank to replace a damaged card about 4-5 months ago. They said that if I change to the chip card there would be no fee but 100 Baht if I got another magnetic card.

I asked if the chip card works abroad, and she said in 'most' countries. When I asked her to look up if it could be used in the US, she brought up a document and found that No, the chip card cannot be used in the US, but would be able to be used sometime in the future (She gave a date, but I don't recall when. I think it was in a couple years. You should be able to check this at the bank.)

I ended up paying for the magnetic card.

[bangkapi]

Capital controls will be in place worldwide until the new global currency is introduced.

[chingching]

Capital controls will be in place worldwide until the new global currency is introduced.

The new global currency is called bitcoin, and yes there are issues, but what country you are in is immaterial.

[ThaiTony2]

I did something simular one time and it ended up being that the ATM machines in Thailand accepted only 4 digits whereas aboard required 6. I was lucky to discover this and quickly made the password change to reflect the correct number of digits.

[jippytum]

Bangkok bank card have a chip to prevent 'skimming ' they only work at the moment on Bangkok Bank atm's within Thailand .If you are going abroad and wish to use the card please contact the bank before departure and the old type will be issued to you.

[brommers]

Jippytum is not correct. The Be1st Smart chip and pin Visa debit card can be used at any Thai bank. For example I used mine today in an SCB Atm. The countries where you will find it difficult to use are India, China and the US. This is because many of their machines are old technology and have yet to be updated to the chip and pin system. So if you are trying to use it in these three technologically underdeveloped countries be prepared to have to search for a machine that will accept the latest technology as did Europe for instance many years ago.