Sorry, your transaction cannot be completed...

I got back earlier in the week from a trip to Thailand that included a few days in Pattaya. As usual I used my Bank Card (Not Credit Card) to draw money from ATM machines. It worked the first time in one of the two machines outside The Royal Garden Mall by the exit on Second Road. However all other subsequent attempts to draw money failed with the message "Sorry, your transaction cannot be completed".

This happened in numerous machines and I gave up trying when one machine held onto my card for a worrying long time before spitting it out.

My bank back in the UK tested the card and could find no problems and could suggest no reason. It did rather reinforce my habit of not relying on one source of funds.

Anyone else had similar problems?

Jon

often.......its because the link is down...........try later and it will be fine

happens a lot there.

As usual I used my Bank Card (Not Credit Card)

It is not usal to used your bank card wold wide, get a credit card like Visa... and your out your problem !

[Jetsam]

yep, I had the same problem some years back, So I had to use my credit card (with the same pin) to get money out of the ATM, or right from the bank desk, the fee for use credit card with ATM is outrageous high.
I always have some backup, and a couple of hundreds Euro in cash just in case all plastic will be denied.

yep, I had the same problem some years back, So I had to use my credit card (with the same pin) to get money out of the ATM, or right from the bank desk, the fee for use credit card with ATM is outrageous high.
I always have some backup, and a couple of hundreds Euro in cash just in case all plastic will be denied.


the fee for use credit card with ATM is outrageous high.

But not as high as chancing cash, take 2 credit different cards you pay les as chancing cash

It is not usal to used your bank card wold wide, get a credit card like Visa... and your out your problem !

My Bank Card is a Maestro Card and I've used it all over the world with no problems. Using my Visa Card incurs an interest charge from the moment of withdrawl which is why I prefer not to use it.

It's reassuring to hear that others had the same problem and I did wonder if there could be some commincation problem behind it. I'll continue to carry some cash as usual when I return this Christmas.

Jon

Some banks are better than others for reliability. Have had the best luck with Bangkok Bank ATMs. It is best to have at least one backup.

I had my visa credit card 'cloned' at a restaurant (!) in KL a couple of years ago. Dont ask me how - I've no idea.
Fortunately my bank spotted the first attempted fraud because of the unusually large amount of money they tried to spend. My bank told me that plastic fraud in Asia is rife and they are very vigilant. That was comforting but scary all at the same time. They advised me to use my cash card (Debit card) at the ATM cash machines and pay with cash instead so thats what Ive done ever since.

However, on the morning of my departure from Patters at the end of my holiday a couple of weeks ago, I worked out how much cash i would need to pay my hotel bill, taxi fare to the airport, airport tax, meals etc and I went to the ATM across from Soi VC to draw the cash.
I got no cash - just an error message "communication error". I tried again... same, same. I went to another machine further down the road same, same.
I went back to the hotel wondering how to get some cash. I saw a notice on the wall at reception saying " we do not accept payment by credit card". Holy Moly! No money to pay my hotel bill. How do i explain that one? The embarassment :colors:
I left it half an hour and tried again. Same, same - no cash.
As a last resort I tried to draw cash on my credit card. That worked. Phew!
I dont know if the "communication error" had been rectified or if it was something to do with my bank, but it could have been very embarassing.
Lesson... wehen relying on plastic, dont leave yourself short - keep some cash in reserve.

I too have experienced problems with credit cards and atms in Thailand.

On one occasion, my card was swallowed by the machine after 3 attempts, whereupon I immediately cancelled the card at my issuing bank.
Some atms have a very low limit (by western standards) on cash withdrawals - I was trying to withdraw 10,000 baht at one atm and after several unsuccessful attempts a thai girl told me I was trying to withdraw too much - I tried for 5000 and voila!

Also, I have had the unfortunate experience of having my credit card cloned. Fortunately when it was used, it was not a great amount initially charged against the card, and my issuing bank suspended transactions on the card, although I did have to cover 2 transactions.

My bank informed me that the first time you use your credit card in Thailand, there is a 90% chance that it will be copied, the second time, 95% and the odds increase exponentially every time you use your card.

My card was issued in Australia, cloned in Thailand, and used for over the counter transactions in the UK.

I had spent 2 weeks in Thailand in late February, early March, but the cloned card was not used until mid-June. My bank said that this was unusual, as it is usually within a 4-6 week time frame that the cloned card is used.

My advice is to use cash wherever possible, especially in restaurants, and only use your credit card at reputable hotels
(although there are no guarantees), have insurance and security on your card, advise your bank that you will not accept any unauthorized/unusual transactions from the date of your last transaction in Thailand.

I will be using a debit card in future, just to be on the safe side

[TrongpaiExpat]

The first time I tried to use my Master Card (citi bank) at MBK in Bangkok they got a denial and call bank message. Citi Bank then canceled the card. I sent an E mail and they said I had to call them. I called, at my expense, and after a series of questions they reactivated the card.

Citi Bank told me that now Thailand is the number one fraud country in the world and MBK is flagged as the number one hot spot.

[wowpow]

I used Citibank UK and Nationwide Bank UK ATM/ Bank cards worldwide. I choose these ones as they do not make any ATM transaction charges and have good exchange rates.

I find that some Thai Bank ATM's refuse the Citibank card a lot with euphemisms like "transaction cannot be completed at this time" which I suspect means we don't card as they don't pay us a fee? I find the same banks invariably have that message but others are fine.

Sometimes it's just true and there is some technical problem. A few weeks back the Citibank card would not work anywhere in Bangkok but the Nationwide one was fine.

Kun Jon is trolling us. One never uses a credit card for cash as the interest rates are invariably usurious.

I have been using ATM cards around the world for 15 years now and for five years I have lived in Thailand and use them frequently. I never had an ATM card compromised in any way. I once had a VISA card copied but the bank spotted it quickly and stopped the card (used at noon in Bangkok and big purchases in Seoul at 1 p.m.) The illegal charges were refunded to me.

[wowpow]

I used Citibank UK and Nationwide Bank UK ATM/ Bank cards worldwide. I choose these ones as they do not make any ATM transaction charges and have good exchange rates.

I find that some Thai Bank ATM's refuse the Citibank card a lot with euphemisms like "transaction cannot be completed at this time" which I suspect means we don't card as they don't pay us a fee? I find the same banks invariably have that message but others are fine.

Sometimes it's just true and there is some technical problem. A few weeks back the Citibank card would not work anywhere in Bangkok but the Nationwide one was fine.

Kun Jon is trolling us. One never uses a credit card for cash as the interest rates are invariably usurious.

I have been using ATM cards around the world for 15 years now and for five years I have lived in Thailand and use them frequently. I never had an ATM card compromised in any way. I once had a VISA card copied but the bank spotted it quickly and stopped the card (used at noon in Bangkok and big purchases in Seoul at 1 p.m.) The illegal charges were refunded to me.

Kun Jon is trolling us. One never uses a credit card for cash as the interest rates are invariably usurious.

What on earth do you mean by that stupid remark?

Jon

I have been using ATM cards around the world for 15 years now and for five years I have lived in Thailand and use them frequently. I never had an ATM card compromised in any way.Same, same here .... until two weeks ago.

I have lived in Asia since 1994 (ok, it's only 12 vs your 15 years), in Japan and Thailand, and lived exclusively on cash advances via ATM debit card on my US credit union checking account. Last week, while routinely balancing my check book (actually Quicken ledger) against my credit union web site ledger, I found two identical transactions from Japan on June 16 for $851 each. I had left Japan on June 11 for Thailand, and had never heard of the name of the "merchant".

My credit union suspended my ATM card on the 16th when they noticed "suspicious activity", but could not explain why they let the transactions go through. A year and a half earlier when I was using my ATM debit card daily at Home Pro, they called me once to verify some particulary high transactions (paying for glass shower enclosure, for example). However, they never called me this time to verify these two transactions.

Now, about $150 later out of my own pocket for notarized report, Fed Ex'ing docs to the credit union, and a fee to issue a new ATM card. They are mailing me a new ATM card. Of course, I am now out of the country (Thailand) for two weeks, and since the 16th I have been unable to access the cash sitting in my checking account. Frustration is only the beginning of the feelings... Luckily I have a Thai savings account with funds I could use to live in Thailand. But, in Japan I had to use my VISA credit card today for a pricy cash advance ... the interest is something like 18% from the date of transaction PLUS that pesky 2% "overseas" transaction fee. <sigh...> I did an online EFT transfer from my checking account to VISA today in hopes that the interest will only be charged for a couple days ... not sure if that's how it will work or not?

So, TP, count your blessings, and don't keep too much money in your account, just in case someone zings you like they zinged me.

On the phone, the credit union advised there was no guarantee they could even replace the money into my checking account, because unlike a VISA credit card where they can withhold payment to a vendor, on a checking account debit card the money just flies out of your account into theirs. Contrary to that advice, today I see that they put the money back into my checking account, even though the Fed Ex original docs (Thai police report , a notarized form, and a hand-written report) have yet not arrived. I faxed the docs to try to expedite the process, and it seems to have worked.

Lesson learned: I will NOT keep extra thousands of dollars, or even hundreds, in my checking account any more. As soon as my paycheck gets direct-deposited, I will transfer it to my savings account and then transfer it back into my checking account only when I need to go to the ATM.

Update - its the end of the month so i just checked my credit card statement.
The SINGLE cash withdrawal I made in Pattaya (see earlier posting above) appears twice!!
It has the same date, same amount but two different reference numbers.
Fortunately, my bank seem to have spotted it and reversed one of them.
How in this computerised age can this kind of thing happen? There is clearly a gremlin in the system somewhere.
Lesson - check bank and credit card statements carefully.

I have a $300 daily limit on my ATM card which can be a real pain in the ass. I get the "sorry this transaction cannot be completed" line when I try to take out more than my limit. I've also gotten this when it exceeded the limit of the bank's ATM I was using or when the system was down. I've had this happen in BKK several times when I hadn't withdrawn anything from my ATM and needed a small amount. Lots of reasons for that message to appear.

Pete