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**skipmac** · 01-08-2021, 18:43

Just ran into a weird problem with our credit cards and wonder if anyone else has experienced this or knows why it happened.

Just back from three weeks in France. First week in Paris, then drove to the Lot Region about 600 km south for ten days. In Paris we used American Express, Capital One and Mastercard debit cards from our credit union, all with no problem.

Then driving south a couple of hours out of Paris the cards would no longer work at the auto pay machine to pay the tolls on the motorway. After trying all our cards finally determined that my wife's credit union debit card was the only one that would work. Even my identical card from the same credit union would not work. Same problem at an autopay machine at a parking lot. Almost couldn't get out of the lot. It was not a problem with the cards because we could use the other cards at restaurants in the local towns and when we drove back to Paris to catch the flight home all the cards worked again including paying tolls when we were closer to Paris.

Clearly some issue the system had with our cards but no one has been able to tell me what or why. But bottom line, when traveling far from home it's a good idea to carry a few different cards for just in case.

StoneCrab · 01-08-2021, 20:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by skipmac

Just ran into a weird problem with our credit cards and wonder if anyone else has experienced this or knows why it happened.

Just back from three weeks in France. First week in Paris, then drove to the Lot Region about 600 km south for ten days. In Paris we used American Express, Capital One and Mastercard debit cards from our credit union, all with no problem.

Then driving south a couple of hours out of Paris the cards would no longer work at the auto pay machine to pay the tolls on the motorway. After trying all our cards finally determined that my wife's credit union debit card was the only one that would work. Even my identical card from the same credit union would not work. Same problem at an autopay machine at a parking lot. Almost couldn't get out of the lot. It was not a problem with the cards because we could use the other cards at restaurants in the local towns and when we drove back to Paris to catch the flight home all the cards worked again including paying tolls when we were closer to Paris.

Clearly some issue the system had with our cards but no one has been able to tell me what or why. But bottom line, when traveling far from home it's a good idea to carry a few different cards for just in case.

I've had similar experiences with various credit cards. If they see that you've broken your typical pattern they shut off the cards.

I've had them turn off my cards in the middle of a road trip multiple times. VERY Irritating. Their expectation is that you call them and tell them that you will need to buy gas in Indiana... like give them your entire trip plans.

**skipmac** · 02-08-2021, 05:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by StoneCrab

I've had similar experiences with various credit cards. If they see that you've broken your typical pattern they shut off the cards.

I've had them turn off my cards in the middle of a road trip multiple times. VERY Irritating. Their expectation is that you call them and tell them that you will need to buy gas in Indiana... like give them your entire trip plans.

Have had that happen as well in the past so I called all my credit card companies before the trip and notified them of the schedule.

The problem must have something to do with whatever company or system in France that processed the cards in the rural areas as all cards worked before and after our trip south. The cards also worked at stores and restaurants in rural France so just the systems that worked the highway and parking lot tolls.

BayRidge35 · 02-08-2021, 06:37

HSBC. One of the few global banks. Set-up a primary account in your country of residence. Additional country-specific accounts are then easy to set-up. Money can then be transferred (without fees if a certain balance is kept) on-line and generally pain free (the HSBC security and validation process can be a bit circuitous, but the app assists).

I’ve lived abroad and had residences in several countries, which required a global bank. Citi Bank with the closest US-based bank that had a global presence, but it did no good in certain countries, e.g. Vietnam.

HSBC also consistently demonstrated excellent client service regardless of the country. Hope this helps…

lady sophie · 02-08-2021, 07:14

I used to live overseas and always maintained an account with HSBC. They are not well known in the US but are a neighborhood bank in the rest of the world - particularly in Asia. If you can open a Premier Account you can move money anywhere in the world and have no ATM fees, transfer fees or overseas exchange fees.

kurtis king · 02-08-2021, 07:22

we were with a federal credit union for years but when we tried to wire $$ to Mexico, said they could'nt do it. Wells Fargo has worked out well since we changed to them, although they charge for every transfer.

jalmberg · 02-08-2021, 07:24

Chase provides many safeguards which I personally appreciate. If you give them a heads-up ahead of a ‘strange’ transaction, it will work fine. Otherwise they will assume it’s someone trying to steal your money. Feature, not a bug!

We have used their debit and credit cards at ATMs around the world. For paying other people, Wise is great.

IMHO, you just need to learn to use the tools you have, rather than looking for less secure tools.

Good luck!

TXProud · 02-08-2021, 08:37

Territories aren’t states. Panama is still known for money laundering. Citi is decent but you’ll need a “valued customer” account which gets you a personal banker, but last I heard they aren’t doing retail accounts anymore.

Tom G · 02-08-2021, 08:39

1. Charles Schwab. I have been with them for 25 years. A previous comment stated that CS is owned by B of A. Actually Schwab was owned by B of A, but has been bought back by Charles Schwab himself and now stands as its own entity ( https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/03/b...o-founder.html ). ATM fees word-wide are refunded. Not sure if a brokerage account is mandatory, but I do have both a savings and a brokerage account with Schwab. The brokerage account minimum is $.01 USD.
2. Transfers / wires. I use Schwab for all ACH transfers and for foreign transfers when Schwab accommodate the foreign currency required. Otherwise, I use Transferwise and fund my Transferwise account from Schwab in USD.

sailboatdream · 02-08-2021, 11:00

Use currency fair when you need to transfer money out of the country. You will then send the money to their US account and you can choose your own exchange rate. I used it with BoA. They froze my account when I transferred to Wise.

merrydolphin · 02-08-2021, 11:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeehag

i like usbank. they accommodate me so far quite well. i made my mom a co signer an d so far am golden. so far.

I love US Bank. I have banked with them for decades. Never a problem, never.

They have caught fraudulent use of my CC, contacted me and handled it completely. I can always get them on the phone if I need to and best of all as I travel so much and don’t even have one in my home town. I have stayed with them because their on line system is great. I do almost everything on line now. Mobile deposits a snap. And in system transfers and payments are pretty much instant!

My absolute favorite bank.

timb7734 · 02-08-2021, 11:36

In all these cases, it works well to have any kind of relationship with any branch manager or account executive and simply tell them ahead of time what you wish to do

redneckrob · 02-08-2021, 12:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by skipmac

Just ran into a weird problem with our credit cards and wonder if anyone else has experienced this or knows why it happened.

Just back from three weeks in France. First week in Paris, then drove to the Lot Region about 600 km south for ten days. In Paris we used American Express, Capital One and Mastercard debit cards from our credit union, all with no problem.

Then driving south a couple of hours out of Paris the cards would no longer work at the auto pay machine to pay the tolls on the motorway. After trying all our cards finally determined that my wife's credit union debit card was the only one that would work. Even my identical card from the same credit union would not work. Same problem at an autopay machine at a parking lot. Almost couldn't get out of the lot. It was not a problem with the cards because we could use the other cards at restaurants in the local towns and when we drove back to Paris to catch the flight home all the cards worked again including paying tolls when we were closer to Paris.

Clearly some issue the system had with our cards but no one has been able to tell me what or why. But bottom line, when traveling far from home it's a good idea to carry a few different cards for just in case.

There was a time in France where all the autopay systems required chip and pin cards. The vast majority of U.S. cards are chip and signature, which is different and not accepted by those chip and pin machines. A few credit unions and specialized cards like the Wise card are chip and pin so it's worth getting the Wise card for that alone.
I've noticed that they've moved away from the chip and pin requirement in Europe over the past 7-8 years, so if you're in a big city with newer infrastructure or eastern Europe where they've only recently installed the equipment you're fine. But rural France still has some of the old equipment, and it's really bad in the overseas departments like Guadalupe.