When using debit cards to shop abroad,
it can either provide forex to the tourist through the Automated Teller
Machine or pay for items in shopping malls through the Point of Sale
machine.
Debit cards allow the owner access to only the balance available in his account.
Jibike Igbayiloye was on a visit to the United Kingdom and had plans to buy some items while on holiday.
The had visited some boutiques and paid
for many things she bought with cash until she had no more forex; so,
she continued her shopping, using her debit cards on the PoS.
Because she might need some cash to pay
for certain items, Igbayiloye decided to enter into a banking hall in
the shopping mall to withdraw some forex from the ATM.
Unfortunately, the ATM swallowed the only debit card she took with her to the UK without giving her the required cash.
Igbayiloye went to the complaint desk of the bank to present her problem. She was told to go to her bank to get the card.
She complained that her bank was in
Nigeria and there was no way she could reach the bank, but the bank
official insisted that she should send an email or call the bank.
Igbayiloye said she would be stranded
without the debit card because she had no cash with her and that it was
the only card she was using to do everything in the UK.
She pleaded with the bank to open their ATM machine and bring out her debit card as she had no other option to get money.
The bank official decided to consider her plea and took her to an office where she was attended to by another employee.
After several efforts to get it out for
her, the employee asked her to provide her means of identification,
which she did not hold with her.
Igbayiloye had to rush to the train
station and she used her oyster card to enter a train back home to pick
her international passport before the bank would close for the day.
When she got back to the bank, she showed her passport and her debit card was returned to her.
Many tourists’ debit cards had been
swallowed by the ATM abroad but were not as lucky as Igbayiloye,
especially when they used the ATMs that were not within the banking hall
where anyone could promptly lodge a complaint.
If a tourist must use his debit card to
withdraw money from an ATM abroad, it is advisable that he should have
another debit card usable abroad as a substitute.
While the use of debit card can give
easy access to purchase anything the buyer wants, it can also cause some
headache when things go wrong.
Depending on where a person is using the
debit card, the selling firm may put a hold on the money, which can
take the bank some days to free.
Again, if a person buys an item abroad
with his debit card and returns it to the store, the store can only
return his money to the debit card. In some instances, the money hangs
and he may not get it back when he returns to his country. This may
require him lodging a complaint to his bank to rectify the problem.
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