Mitzyboy

Money Corp doing them?

I just wondered because I wads conned into having one on a recent trip to the States by a well known currency company, instead of taking travellers cheques. They told me I could withdraw USD charge free from ATM's in the states, and that it was a secure way of paying for goods and services.

Instead, I was charged $2-€3 at every ATM I withdrew cash from, and when paying in restaurants and shops they just swiped the card instead of asking me for a pin or a signature!!!!

Is this normal? I was thinking of getting one for transferring regular stuff to € from sterling

pTeronaut

Was it the card issuer that charged for ATM use? (The card issuer, Travelex? has no control in whether the bank or credit union that owns the ATM charges for withdrawals from their machines)


As far as I am aware only Best Buy observe Chip & PIN (thanks to their short term merger with Carphone Warehouse), and most fast food restaurants don't ask for a signature for transactions under $15-20.

Let's face it, the US banks just don't care as unlike the UK, the banks over here are liable for any of their members losses due to fraudulent use of a debit card issued by them.

I used a Travelex Cash Passport for my trip from the States to the UK, and was never charged for ATM use, the only issue that I had was that privately owned ATMs on the LINK network would decline the card.

On the other hand, when I did have to use my US Credit card at a store in London, the cashier was happy to accept my UK drivers licence photocard with a photo taken in 2000 and expired last year.

Mitzyboy

No it was the ATM owner.
The "discussion" I had at Travelex was basically me saying that I was sure ATMs would charge, and Travellex telling me they could assure me that I wouldnt get charged. Eventually I was silly enough to believe him.

Some of the services and purchases were up around €160, and thats when I was most concerned for of course they wander off in restaurants with your card so you cant see what they are doing with it :-)

pTeronaut

I must say that I have never been to a restaurant (table serve) which didn't leave a slip for a signature (plus tip) upon presentation of a credit or debit card here in the US.

Oh, BTW, I meant to write that the banks in the US aren't liable for account holders losses due to fraudulent use of debit cards.

Mitzyboy

Sorry, I wasnt clear. We get a slip of course (they want us to add their 15 - 20% ), but the card goes away to the back room before they bring the slip back and we add the tip

pTeronaut

That's the standard procedure, the card gets pre-authorized, you write in the final amount and add your auth. by signing, Even Dominos over here uses that system. From what I remember, that was also the procedure in the UK before C & P. Whilst I have been a victim to someone taking more than I wrote for a tip once ( I caught it and called the restaurant manager and got it rectified), reports of that happening are few & far between.

There are very few places in the US which aren't equipped to handle plastic, so you'd might just be better off finding a credit card which doesn't tack on any fees for using it outside the country in which it was issued. The Capital One World card is an example of one, if you can get it where you are.

If you do have to have access to cash, reload your Cash Passport, and when you need cash, simply pop into the nearest supermarket, buy a pack of gum, or small chocolate bar (usual <$1) and get cashback. Always cheaper than an ATM, if you need more cash for anything other than a personal transfer, then start to smell fish, as any business that wants cash for something over $50 shouldn't be trusted.