Bank Of America Strands Couple In Japan Without Cash On Their Honeymoon
March 2nd, 2008 by James
Be careful about trusting your bank’s assurances about being able to use your debit card in Japan:
Before leaving for his honeymoon, Derek called Bank of America to make sure he could rely on his debit card while he was in Japan. Bank of America assured him that he would have no problem accessing money. Yet on the third day of his honeymoon, neither he nor his wife could draw cash from their cards, stranding them with only $15 in cash.
Read the full story at The Consumerist.
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That’s just stupid.
When something like this, unusual payments, happen to me, my bank contacts me directly. Their 24hr service calls me to ask me if I made reservation X or am in country Y before doing anything nasty. They call my home number, or in case that is not reachable and the reservation or withdrawl is in another time zone, they text my mobile phone so I can tell them what to do.
I only have a normal checking/saving account with them and a credit card.
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The problem lies at the lowest rung of the bank’s customer service centers. They simply have no idea what the situation is in Japan so they either lie or repeat a lie told to them in training. I had similar struggles with HSBC, as nearly every response to my questions regarding moving to Japan has turned out to be false. However, I can use my ATM card at the Japanese postal ATMs, so at least I didn’t end up like these folks.
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There was no Citi-Bank around? Always works for me.
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I just find it odd that anyone would rely so heavily on a single method of payment when travelling abroad. Particularly a debit card back in the States. The options are out there; Traveller’s Checks, credit cards, and the like are all valid and safe forms of payment. Not to mention carrying cash in Japan isn’t as scary (or as dangerous) as they may be led to believe. My advice is for them to get a credit card and charge their trip on it. Then there’s a paper trail that has that their info as to where they are going. Then if they charge on that card (in the event that the card is declined while travelling); their credit card fraud department will review the card holder’s recent charges. It’s even better if they do so with a card that gives mileage points for that transaction. Sort of kills three birds with one stone (gives the card company a heads up to your future plans, gives you extra mileage points for travelling, and you don’t have to pay up front for the trip which will give that person that much more extra cash to spend while on their trip).
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Nothing more annoying than being stranded with no cash.
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Why is this making news? They should have just prepared for all eventualities. Anyone reading about Japan before a long trip should know about the preference to cash vs. credit cards and limited ATM hours.
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Probably as it isn’t “news.” It’s just an item on a blog or online magazine about consumer issues in the US. This is not about the issues with Japanese ATMs either, as they were using ones that the BOA had assured them they could use. The problem, if you read the post, is that the BOA said they could use them fine, and then someone there saw a lot of transactions in a foreign country and stopped their use.
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They were incredibly stupid.
First to completely rely on a single way to get money while there.
Then on top of that, after already having had problems with their cards they continued to spend cash and didn’t start worrying until they had almost nothing left. It didn’t occur to them to keep some for emergencies? D’oh!
And now they are complaining that they lost a single day of their trip because of that? They are very lucky to have been able to sort the problem so easily.
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FALSE REPORTING!!!!!!
If you have a BOA debit card, the chances is that it is a “check card”. These idiots had a “Visa check card” ANYWHERE that takes visa will honor it like a credit card. They tried to draw off a ATM that was not a Visa authorized international ATM. The ONLY ATM machines in Japan that are Visa international authorized are at the Japan Post. They fucked up not BOA.
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Besides the Post Office, Citibank, special SMBC ATMs (In the three I know in Kansai: Sannomiya, Hankyu Umeda, and Namba Walk) and 7/11 ATM can do it too. This is for credit cash advances or withdrawing money from your checking or savings accounts. See my other comment below.
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I have an American bank and credit card besides my Japanese ones. I’ve called the credit card and told them I live in Japan once or twice and they’ve responded both times that it doesn’t really matter for them. Last time I went back to the states I didn’t call them and they didn’t notice. Used the card around America, flew back to Japan and used it there. Nothing wrong. Although for some reason the card just wont work at Midori Denka or Aeon stores (Max Valu, Jusco, or Aeon operated malls). They also have the 24 hour hotline for international users. This is Capital One mind you not a black Amex.
Also, why go to the really mendokusai Citibank ATMs? I only know of one of them in all of Japan. The BOA cards would work at the Post Office, and recently 7/11 ATMs began accepting foreign cash cards. There’s also the SMBC ATMs here and there. I don’t think the Post Office charges you when you use their ATMs either. Your bank might however.
A bit of advice: The best bank is First Republic. They don’t charge you for using other ATMs and if that ATM charges you, no matter the cost, they reimburse you that cost at the end of the month. Any ATM that will accept your card is free to use. You can call them collect from anywhere in the world too. You have to hold a large balance, but if you can do it its way worth it.
Unrelated question: If neither of these people can speak Japanese why are buying a Japanese Wii? Are they going to write to the Consumerist when they figure out their Japanese Wii won’t play American Wii software?
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Some of the big chains in Akiba, like Laox, have special sections for export items that will work in English or in XX region or whatever. That’s probably what it is.
I only have a Japanese credit card, but it’s never failed me yet overseas.
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read the FULL article…. the check/debit cards did not work, because BOA had put a fraud charge on them because they had been using thme in japan, even though they had notified the bank already.
Yeah don’t uSe BOA!! their rates are THE WORST!! they are NOT an international bank, despite being the largest bank in the US. if you are travelling abroad, i reccomend citibank, which IS an international bank, and u find ATMs a lot of places.. but still… Why the hell didn’t he bring credit card… he’s a doofus.
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This happened to me, too. I use Washington Mutual bank.
Before I went to Japan, I called and told them that I’d be traveling to Japan.
The first lady I spoke with said that there was no need to flag my account
as one that might be used in Japan.
I asked her to ask her supervisor–which she did–and came back and said:
“I’m sorry–you *do* need to flag your account”.
So I was okay, right?
No such luck.
When I arrived in Japan,
my VISA card worked for the first 2 transactions,
and was then cut off.
When I called my bank (at 40 cents a minute!),
they told me that I needed to stop in “the nearest Washington Mutual branch”
(3000 miles away)
to re-activate my account.
I was so pissed.
I am still pissed, but I keep with this bank because they are less crappy
than the other local banks.
For that trip I ended up borrowing money from my Japanese sister-in-law,
which was quite embarrassing.
So the end of the story is that the next 3 times I visited Japan I carried $3K in cash,
just to be safe.
Pissed me off.
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The customer service at BoA is not very good in my opinion. I’m surprised that these people didn’t take a lot of Amex travelers checks.
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This has happened to me a few times in Japan where my cards were flagged for fraudulent use. Fortunately, Amex has english speaking customer reps on their japanese line. HSBC has a thing where you can setup a japanese account and transfer funds between your US account and Japanese bank account with no atm fees or transfer charges if you are a Premier customer. Unfortunately theres only 2 HSBC branches, one in Shibuya and Akasaka.
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Although credit cards are widely used in Japan (for larger purchases) their favorite method of payment is still cold hard cash. When I travel to Japan (vacation now mostly) I always bring up cash as my “spending money” and use my carry credit card for lodging (or dining) expenses.
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This is really weird.
I was in Japan over the summer (and I’m a minor so this is even worse) and I was able to go to the post office whenever I needed to make a withdrawal from my debit card (which acted like credit card in Japan). Visa works there, so it’s pretty easy to go to any store in the mall and charge purchases on it. Additionally, within many of the malls I went to, there were post office kiosks that I could use to get money from my account. The only thing I couldn’t do was deposit money, but that’s something that can be done online. The other thing you have to remember to do is notify the bank before you leave so they know you will be gone and won’t block the charges made.
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