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Debit cards that work at ATMs in high risk countries
Can someone help me?
I need to find a bank that will allow me to easily withdraw funds using a debit card while traveling abroad. I have had Chase and Ally. Both banks have ignored my travel notifications and canceled cards on me due to suspicious activity simply because I traveled to a country where I added a travel notification and try to like - use a debit card to withdraw funds. I am so frustrated I want to pull my hair out. Chase is now refusing to add a travel notification to my account for any country which it considers high risk (which seems to be every country not found in North America and Europe). To date and many years of travel I have had zero incidents of actual fraud but I have had many painful phone calls, pleas, frozen accounts, and canceled debit cards. Please, please, please tell me how to end this madness. |
Bring cash? I now just plan for the ATM not working.
Seriously, the aggravation is just not worth it. |
Schwab is the answer to your problems. No foreign transaction fees on ATMs abroad and all ATM fees (domestic and abroad) are reimbursed. I used my Schwab debit card on ATMs in Turkey and Georgia (the country) last summer without any hassles.
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Schwab is your answer.
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Banks Hate Me
or USAA if you are eligible to join
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I've used Paypal for the last decade or so. I used to have similar problems, but after I notified them that I was ALWAYS traveling, no more problems.
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Debit cards that work at ATMs in high risk countries
According to Chase the World Cup was hosted in a high-risk country. Imagine the nightmare for their customers.
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why not just get a CC with no FTF?
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This is one more reason EMV debit needs to happen soon. An EMV transaction is much lower risk.
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Originally Posted by FirstInFlight
(Post 23183871)
or USAA if you are eligible to join
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Debit cards that work at ATMs in high risk countries
You can usually get a cash advance through a bank twller off your debit card without any fees.
I was in a chase branch and called Schwab needing to make a big ATM withdrawal to fund n account and get a counter check to pay for something else. They actually recommended getting cash over the counter withy my card as opposed to standing outside in front of a ATM and grabbing a large amount of cash for security reasons. |
Can you be specific as to which high risk country?
There are some which won't work at all ( Iran ) and believe it or not japan ( mainly due to technical reasons ) |
I find a good method is to buy currency from my bank before I leave. Specifically, I have an account at Bank of America, and for a $7.50 fee they will convert currency before I leave. I believe they waive that fee if you convert more than $1000 USD.
I also bring some US$ along with me in cases of emergency. I don't want to bring my own ATM card with me on business trips to high risk countries because I don't like bearing that risk myself. |
I love the Schwab ATM card. The only hassle I've ever had was in Guatemala when visa cut me off. I called Schwab and the agent worked with visa to let me get the $2500. I needed and then set my daily limit at $100. Since I could check the balance every day that wasn't too much of a risk for me
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Originally Posted by meFIRST
(Post 23184610)
Can you be specific as to which high risk country?
There are some which won't work at all ( Iran ) and believe it or not japan ( mainly due to technical reasons ) |
Originally Posted by FTRox87
(Post 23183966)
why not just get a CC with no FTF?
Originally Posted by bigshooter
(Post 23184362)
You can usually get a cash advance through a bank twller off your debit card without any fees.
I was in a chase branch and called Schwab needing to make a big ATM withdrawal to fund n account and get a counter check to pay for something else. They actually recommended getting cash over the counter withy my card as opposed to standing outside in front of a ATM and grabbing a large amount of cash for security reasons.
Originally Posted by meFIRST
(Post 23184610)
Can you be specific as to which high risk country?
There are some which won't work at all ( Iran ) and believe it or not japan ( mainly due to technical reasons )
Originally Posted by jeanie
(Post 23184749)
I find a good method is to buy currency from my bank before I leave. Specifically, I have an account at Bank of America, and for a $7.50 fee they will convert currency before I leave. I believe they waive that fee if you convert more than $1000 USD.
I also bring some US$ along with me in cases of emergency. I don't want to bring my own ATM card with me on business trips to high risk countries because I don't like bearing that risk myself. ATM withdrawal OTOH, uses the Multi-Millions Interbanks settlement rates which are much much more tight spread, usually less than 0.25%. ATM cards are much safer than bring cold hard cash. You do not bear the risk because any fraudulent usages, if there is any, as long as you report it in time (within 60 days of the statement where such fraudulent charges occurred), you are not responsible. :rolleyes:
Originally Posted by manneca
(Post 23184839)
I love the Schwab ATM card. The only hassle I've ever had was in Guatemala when visa cut me off. I called Schwab and the agent worked with visa to let me get the $2500. I needed and then set my daily limit at $100. Since I could check the balance every day that wasn't too much of a risk for me
Originally Posted by Father-of-3
(Post 23185016)
In Japan I've found Chase Bank locations work for US cards. Unfortunately there are very few, but there is one in Tokyo and it saved me years ago.
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Originally Posted by Happy
(Post 23186384)
In many countries, European countries included, many things cannot be paid with CC. Local transportation tickets for example. Small restaurants, street vendors, countless situations that a CC does not help you a bit.
Yes, Cash Advance is suggested by my BofA CSM too, largely to circumvent the daily limit on ATM withdrawal. In many cases the limit is as low as just $500. You can use 7-11 ATMs as well as ATMs in the Post Offices. There are also Citis and other major Japanese banks in tourist popular locations that have the international network function. You should check the exchange rate you are getting - usually you are paying a 5% or more difference buying currency from the bank - just check the Buy / Sell rates. When you "buy" the foreign currency, you essentially "sell" your USD to the bank. Bank does not do this for free, aside from the processing fee. Bank does this to earn the SPREAD between the Buy and Sell rate. ATM withdrawal OTOH, uses the Multi-Millions Interbanks settlement rates which are much much more tight spread, usually less than 0.25%. ATM cards are much safer than bring cold hard cash. You do not bear the risk because any fraudulent usages, if there is any, as long as you report it in time (within 60 days of the statement where such fraudulent charges occurred), you are not responsible. :rolleyes: Yes, Schwab is Great. They also reimburse the ATM fees which in many Asian airports ATMs charge fees. I have seen that in BKK and ICN recently. Citi, Chase and a few big Japanese banks all have international network ATMs but as you said, outside main tourist areas you could not find any. BUT 7-11 ATMs all work as Citi partners with them from years ago to offer such service. |
Originally Posted by rgAAFT
(Post 23186715)
I knew Citibank is in many international locations , but did not know that Chase also has representation in Japan?
With the Schwab and Fido card you can withdraw your money with any bank anywhere as both reimburse the ATM fees. Schwab has a higher daily limit and they are very willing to work with you in case you need to up or down the daily limit because it owns a bank. Fido though is another story as it does not own a bank and your money is spread among several banks. However Fido has local toll free number in tons of countries so when you need to talk to them it is very useful. Had to call them from Livorno, Italy on withdrawal made at Aix en Provence, France at BNP the day before. (BNP ATM ate the card and a long story followed). The Fido toll free number and the online chat have proven quite helpful. We always bring both ATM cards with us. |
High Risk countries, you may want to use ATMs that don't suck in your card and instead use the ones that never leave you finger (the swipe). Last thing you want is the machine eating it while being overseas
And Capital One Debits have no foreign transcation fees |
Schwab is best
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When I was going to Colombia, Chase would not let me add a travel notification on my account, siting it as a high risk country. They said they could not guarantee they wouldn't block transaction from Colombia. But over 2 weeks I had no issues, withdrawing from atms multiple times.
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I've used the Schwab high yield investor checking debit card in Myanmar, Colombia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Cambodia, Kenya, Nigeria, India and Nepal. I call ahead for a travel notification and have never had an issue. 0% transaction fees and they refund all ATM usage fees. I can't believe this card still exists and that it has been working for as long as it has. It's fused to me on any travel.
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Originally Posted by jeanie
(Post 23184749)
I find a good method is to buy currency from my bank before I leave. Specifically, I have an account at Bank of America, and for a $7.50 fee they will convert currency before I leave. I believe they waive that fee if you convert more than $1000 USD.
Cheers Howie |
Originally Posted by meFIRST
(Post 23184610)
Can you be specific as to which high risk country?
There are some which won't work at all ( Iran ) and believe it or not japan ( mainly due to technical reasons ) Cheers Howie |
I've used ATMs in many so-so countries... Syria, Congo, Gabon, Angola, etc without any issues. Did not use ATMs in Nigeria, Somaliland, Iran, Iraq, Eritrea, Algeria, Uzbekistan, but mostly due to black market rates being much better than official.
I've had BofA, Chase and Schwab bank accounts. |
My Citibank card has almost never failed me, except in the airports in Belo Horizonte, Brazil and Georgetown, Guyana, where there were no machines that would accept it. I travel almost exclusively in emerging-market countries (a.k.a. high risk). It is true that Citibank is familiar with my travel patterns and doesn't blink when I put my card in an ATM in Uganda, for example, but the fact that they are present in so many countries is a big help.
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Originally Posted by wickedtao
(Post 23201992)
High Risk countries, you may want to use ATMs that don't suck in your card and instead use the ones that never leave you finger (the swipe). Last thing you want is the machine eating it while being overseas
And Capital One Debits have no foreign transcation fees |
I don't know if this will help anyone but
I lost my Charles Schwab debit card while traveling overseas... Got my replacement card in the mail today and it has an EMV chip. I repeat, the Charles Schwab DEBIT card now has EMV chip technology |
Also haven't had any issues with Schwab.
In Japan, stick to 7-11, HSBC, Japan Post and Citi ATMs. I've also used my Schwab card across India and Southeast Asia without problems. |
FWIW, used my Fidelity debit card in Mexico last week for several withdrawals. Got awesome exchange rates and all ATM fees were refunded instantly. Also yes, as others have mentioned, my new Schwab debit card has a chip. The documentation explicitly has instructions about chip and signature. I would imagine that being it is a debit card with a PIN it should also work as chip and PIN, right? :confused:
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Originally Posted by xchpstang
(Post 23247295)
FWIW, used my Fidelity debit card in Mexico last week for several withdrawals. Got awesome exchange rates and all ATM fees were refunded instantly. Also yes, as others have mentioned, my new Schwab debit card has a chip. The documentation explicitly has instructions about chip and signature. I would imagine that being it is a debit card with a PIN it should also work as chip and PIN, right? :confused:
Schwab chose to be stupid and use signature for purchases which really sucks. |
Originally Posted by Lumpylump76
(Post 23183714)
Bring cash? I now just plan for the ATM not working.
Seriously, the aggravation is just not worth it. |
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