The joys of modern banking
In many ways, modern banking is wonderful. I can travel pretty much anywhere in the world and withdraw money from a machine using my trusty bank card. I can also pay for many things with my credit card just by a swipe and sign or tapping in a PIN.
It’s a million times easier than the old system of travellers’ cheques and carrying huge swathes of cash that have been exchanged at home. But the banks don’t half seem determined to wreck this painless joy in the name of security.
Air Miles credit card
For credit cards, I use the Lloyds TSB Airmiles duo. This is great for two reasons – firstly I get both American Express and Mastercard (useful for when one isn’t accepted) and, secondly, I earn Air Miles on everything I spend.
But LloydsTSB doesn’t seem to get that such a credit card is likely to be used by people who travel frequently. And they have an irritating habit of putting a block on it when I make a transaction in, say, Moldova or Samoa.
Credit card blocks
This has happened to me a few times now, and the ritual is always the same. I make a hugely expensive call from my mobile to say “Can you please take that bloody block off?” and they try to pretend that putting it on in the first place was part of their excellent service. It’s part of the security measures designed to protect me – unusual spending patterns get flagged up, and blocks occasionally instituted for safety’s sake.
Unusual spending patterns
I then have to explain that I am a travel writer. I use the card for both work and pleasure, and I conduct both in all manner of obscure corners across the globe. There will always be unusual spending patterns – purchase of a new computer, flights from an obscure airline, cash withdrawals in the middle of nowhere – because my life follows unusual patterns. Ones, it should be noted, that should be ideally suited to this particular pair of credit cards.
Beating the system
Next, I will ask if there is any way to circumvent this system so that I don’t have to go through the faff of periodically unblocking my card in phone calls from Whoopwhoopistan. They’ll say no – it’s a fully automated system and that the best way to prevent this is to phone and inform them every time I’m about to go abroad so that the dates can be logged.
Genuine transactions
What an utter pain in the arse this is. Of course I’m not going to do that – and neither should I have to. There should be some way of logging in the system that I travel abroad frequently and that these ‘suspicious’ transactions are highly likely to be genuine.
Security obsession
Such obsession with security has also made using my current account a pain in the backside. I bank with Nationwide, and use the Visa debit card that comes with that account. I also make a lot of transactions via internet banking.
Card Reader
This was great right up until the point where Nationwide helpfully sent me a ‘Card Reader’ in the post. For added security, I now have to put my card into this and enter all manner of numbers and passcodes before my internet banking transaction is allowed to go through.
I also have to take the bloody thing everywhere with me in case I should need to pay a bill, or transfer some money while I’m abroad. And as nuisance items to pack go, it’s up there at the top. I really shouldn’t need to have to take what looks like a little blue calculator with me.
Better service?
But the thing that annoys me most is that the banks, building societies and credit card companies claim that such irritants are about offering a better service. Let’s get one thing straight – it is not. Credit card blocks and card readers are not introduced for my security – they’re an arse-covering measure. The banks/ credit card companies know darned well that they become liable for anything bought on a card that costs over £100 if it is done so fraudulently. In other words, they are the ones that have to pay for it in the end.
And it’s far better to annoy the customer in the name of security and service than it is to stump up, isn’t it?
Tags: banks, credit cards, money, technology
Completely agree. We had our Nationwide cards stopped in Malaysia this summer. We had even called them before to tell them too. But that made no difference. Worse still the first time they said they had taken the block off we still couldn’t use the cards. I wrote them a really stroppy letter when I got back and they gave us £100 though. Kind of suggests they felt some liability. I think you should tell them before you go places and then insist they refund the cost of calls etc if they still block your card…
Alliance and Leicester are worse. While we were away they were fine for eight months, then they began blocking our cards once every 30 days for ‘security’. So it didn’t matter we’d already told them we were out of the country and would be for the foreseeable future, they just blocked them arbitrarily.
Yay!
Very annoying, and an exercise in self-protection as you say. I always call the card co. in advance, although Barclays only allow you to notify them of two countries. If you’re going to a third, you have to call en route to add it to their list. Clearly going the extra mile to help their customers.
I had my debit card blocked in Damascus last year and had to call the bank. When you’re paying £5/min or whatever it is, the last thing you want to hear is “Syria…. what country is that in?” Sad but true.
maybe US banks are different. I’ve never had any problems (knock on wood!) after notifying Bank of America and U.S. Bank beforehand that I would be using my cards outside the country.
I get it all the time too, since I live in Laos, but Thailand is just across the Mekong, so it’s possible to use the card in 2 countries in under an hour. Despite being here and doing that for 12 years, Lloyds TSB can make no accommodation, and the blocking is automatic…
Agree with this. I live in Japan, and enjoy a bit of travel. Last week I tried to book a flight to Singapore and had my card rejected. Cue a call to the fraud department of HSBC to get my card ‘unlocked’. Got the usual ‘don’t worry, you’re transaction will go through now, sir’ rubbish. Too late, already booked it on my credit card. Never mind. Yesterday I tried to book a hostel in Singapore, using my freshly unlocked card. No luck, rejected again. Now waiting for that email from my mother telling me the HSBC fraud squad need me to call them about another ‘urgent matter.’ You’d think they’d get the connection, a flight to Singapore, a hostel in Singapore … hmm.