Don't Assume Your ATM Card will work abroad

David,
Did your wife inform the bank of her travel plans? You always have to do that, otherwise your credit/debit card will be blocked. But phoning the bank after you arrive in Europe should clear up the problem. It sound like the reps you were talking to are giving you the run around, and telling you a bunch of nonsense. One thing I've noticed in Spain and Portugal is that many bank ATMs will only accept Mastercard affiliated cards, other banks will only accept Visa. So trying a different bank and making sure they are affiliated with Mastercard might help.
Also, one should always carry around about $300 in cash (stored in a money belt or hotel room safe) just for emergencies like this

Last summer we ran into similar issues in Madrid, Spain, with my 15 year old daughter unable to use her Visa ATM card. We had previously notified our bank that she was going to be in Spain. Luckily, I was home and able to go back to the bank in Oregon and intervene on her behalf. The bank employees working on the issue were informed that for whatever reason, there are security and fraud issues with Spain and they had not done enough to clear her card. The issue was resolved within a few days and her card worked perfectly the rest of the summer. I had also given her another ATM card from another bank to use as a backup. Because of these random "security/fraud" (???) issues, we now always go to Europe with at least 2 ATM cards issued from different banks (so my husband and I have at least 4 different sources for getting cash ...also important in the unlikely case of theft or loss... since it would be difficult to resolve a bank issue from Europe. We always keep small amounts of money in several extra credit union accounts only used for our European trips. Our take home lessons is to never, ever trust just one source for getting cash.

David,

This is a good reminder on why it's a good idea to travel with at least two ATM cards on different Banks / accounts.

I've found on several occasions in the past that not all staff at financial institutions are familiar with the details of the products they offer, so may not know whether these will function in foreign countries. The fact that you got two different stories from two Managers is not surprising.

One thought that occurred to me after reading of these problems - did your Wife have her travel funds in a chequing account with a four-digit PIN?

It seems a bit odd that the card has the necessary affinity logos (Plus, Cirrus) or whatever, and yet only operates partially with those networks? Also, it's difficult to understand why an ATM card would be an issue with "homeland security" but only in some countries?

Be sure to let us know how you resolved this problem, as I'm sure the information would be useful for others here.

Good luck!

I also had a difficult time using my atm cards this year even though I had informed the banks the dates and countries that I would be in. They explained that the bank's fraud departments are on high alert these days probably due to the economy (or maybe they just like to make life rough for us? haha!) I just had to call from Florence to let them know that I really was in Florence.

Fortunately I always save several hundred euro for the next year so that I arrive with enough for the first couple of days.
By the way, someone did try to use my card number in London for US$700 2 months before our trip this year...and we haven't been there since 1999 and aren't planning to for another couple of years!

My bank replaced my debit card a few months ago because, they said, VISA's security had been breached and someone had stolen the card numbers of a lot of users. Fortunately, I was not traveling at the time. If I had been, I would not have known about the matter or received the new card until I returned. I am also concerned that the bank and VISA/MC expect us to trust them when we notify them about our travel plans and they tell us they have entered the information in their records. I would like something more than their word on this. That may not prevent a problem, but I would like to know who is responsible if I am stranded with an ATM card that does not work.

In 2001 or 2002, we had a similar problem. Our Wells Fargo card, which had worked in Portugal, stopped working when we got to Spain. After 3 calls to the bank, which resulted in nothing, we relied on our travel companions for getting cash for 4(!) weeks. They also had WF cards, but theirs worked. Go figure! When we got back, I went to my local branch, where the manager had a hard time explaining what had gone on. Her only thought was that maybe our friends' cards had the visa logo and while ours had the mc logo. We have not had a problem since then, so I assumed that whatever the glitch was had now been remedied. Evidently not. We drew the same lesson as David, but also always carry cards for 3 accounts now, as well as at least 2 cc's. BTW, over the years we have also had occasional ATM problems in France, Italy, Netherlands, and Sweden. Anyone who assures newbies that there aren't problems is leading them astray. The multiple card backup seems the most sensible to us.

This past July, I was in a small resort town, Locarno, in southern Switzerland. I was unsuccessful using my quite new chipped TD bank card. Now, TD is a big major Canadian bank and before leaving home, I called up their hotline and informed them of my trip. When I tried to withdraw from the Credit Suisse ATM it said that my card was damaged but it worked fine when I was at the Toronto airport on my way to Europe. When back home, my card worked fine. I would have thought that being in Switzerland world-known for it's banking industry, that I would be easily able to withdraw cash from their atms. I used my back up Scotia card to get cash

Marlene,

What a coincidence, I was also in Locarno in June! I was in the area (Stresa), so thought it would be a good time for a return visit. I've heard that my family originated in the Canton of Ticino, so always like to explore that area whenever possible.

I used my credit union ATM card while I was in Locarno (after lunch at the Manor restaurant of course), and had no trouble getting cash. I also have a "chip" TD Visa card, but I only use that for credit card transactions (cash advances are WAY too expensive!).

David, I think you've been talking with un-informed people at your local bank, trying to blame their issues on Mastercard. I've used a debit card with the Maestro logo (which is the debit card associated with Mastercard) in 6 European countries, including Spain. And according to the Maestro page at http://www.maestrocard.com/ the card works in Spain. I suspect the problem lies with your local bank, not Mastercard.

The page at http://www.mastercard.com/us/personal/en/cardholderservices/atmlocations/index.html has a search engine that lists dozens and dozens of ATMs it says will work in Valencia, Spain.

I suggest you call Mastercard's assist number you can find on this page: http://www.mastercard.com/us/personal/en/cardholderservices/emergencyservices/index.html

Well its interesting to hear that we are not alone with this problem. In trying to resolve our situation, we spoke with two representatives of the Lakeland Bank while my wife was in Valencia. They both indicated that the problem was with Mastercard and they were helpless. They suggested that my wife go to a bank and make a cash advance, which she could sign for, since the pin function was disabled in Spain. Unfortunately, it was 8pm Valencia time and she was leaving early the next morning. She was actually accompanying my son to school, and was able to borrow money from him to cover the costs of a cab to the airport. His BOA ATM card worked fine. I've always used my Wachovia ATM card in the past and never experienced any problems.

Ironically, when my wife returned home to Newark this morning, she went to pick up her car at the off-site parking lot we always use and she was told that the charge would not go through on her Lakeland ATM, neither as a debit nor as a Mastercard charge. Even though she told the bank yesterday that she was returning the next day and wanted to make sure it would work in the US when she returned.

I've done some research and it seems that the problem is more with smaller banks and credit unions. I will always travel with multiple cards in the future. I'm also planning on moving my banking business back to one of the big boys. I always root for the underdog (Hey, I'm still a Mets fan) but I've had so many problems and inconveniences with this small bank, that I cant justify it anymore.

Thank you all for your thoughts and advice!

Don't give up on small banks and credit unions just because of your experience at this particular bank. I have used a very small local credit union for years and have never had a problem traveling with my ATM cards. I give them a call before a trip and they make a note of where I'll be and when, and I go - Europe, China,Costa Rica - no problems. Just look for a bank who knows more about the systems they interface with.

Just back from London with the same problem. My ATM wouldn't work for cash and none of my credit cards worked at train stations and at the Tube, although I had overpaid all of them so they would have credit balances. Fortunately, they worked for the hotels and restaurants, and there were two of us, one of whose cash card did work which is a good thing because we got off the plan in London with just a small amount of cash figuring we'd just use ATM's. Better to call all your credit card companies in acvance.