Satander Zero Mastercard REJECTED in Barcelona

The_Grateful_Ghoul

HELP!

I am currently in Barcelona with a Satander Zero Mastercard but has been rejected in a shops, restaurants and the Metro when buying a T10 ticket.

Is this because it needs to be EURO Mastercard.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated:beer:

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

The_Grateful_Ghoul wrote: »

HELP!

I am currently in Barcelona with a Satander Zero Mastercard but has been rejected in a shops, restaurants and the Metro when buying a T10 ticket.

Is this because it needs to be EURO Mastercard.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated:beer:

The currency shouldn't matter. I can't suggest anything more helpful than you need to contact Santander in the UK.

Any

The_Grateful_Ghoul wrote: »

HELP!

I am currently in Barcelona with a Satander Zero Mastercard but has been rejected in a shops, restaurants and the Metro when buying a T10 ticket.

Is this because it needs to be EURO Mastercard.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated:beer:

No idea what you mean by Euro mastercard, never heard such a thing. You just made that one up.

The chances are that you didn't let your bank know you are going away (though some of them don't even want to know) and they stopped it because they are affraid of fraud.

You need to call them and ask them to unblock the card as you are indeed in Barcelona and it is not a fradulent transaction.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

Any wrote: »

No idea what you mean by Euro mastercard

I assumed that the OP was referring to a MasterCard issued in a country which uses the Euro as its currency.

izools

Eurocard used to be a separate type of payment network bought up by Master card a long time ago.

Eurocard no longer exists as a separate entity and there hasn't been a difference between the two since 2002.

So don't worry OP, it's not that! Call Santander and see what they say



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurocard_(payment_card)

The_Grateful_Ghoul

Huge thanks for all your responses, I saw "Euro Mastercard" on the Metro machine and assumed this might have something to do with the problem.

However a quick look on www.saynoto0870.com I managed to get hold of Santander for a damn sight cheaper than an overseas call to an 0845 number and they informed me becuase I hadnt told them I was going abroard they had blocked overseas transactions but it is all sorted now.

Thanks to everyone for your help

kissingthepink

Simon_P wrote: »

So basically you didn't tell them you were going abroad? Give me strength! :rotfl:

This is not a requirement for most banks.

noh

Simon_P wrote: »

On the contrary i think you will find most Banks do advise you in the T&C to notify them if you are going abroad so that your card will not be blocked.

No. Most say that is not necessarry to notify them and that doing so makes no difference.

For example Nationwide
http://www.nationwide.co.uk/search/DisplayArticle.aspx?article=1483

noh

Simon_P wrote: »

Nationwide is not 'most'.

No it is the first example I found.

I hold cards from 5 or 6 different providers and am not aware of one of them that has the requirement to notify them when travelling abroad.

Typhoon2000

Same here, all my cards work abroad without have to inform the bank.

chattychappy

Whether or not they say you should inform them, and whether or not you do, it doesn't always make alot of difference.

I am out of the UK more than in. I generally haven't phoned providers and have never had a problem. I did phone ZERO, but had a slightly stupid conversation - they wanted to know my precise entry and exit date of each country. I asked them can I just give you a list of the countries (3 or 4 in Asia) that I would be visiting over the next month, and they said no. Then it seemed they could only take one country at a time... so I gave up, and in the event didn't have a problem.

I should add that years ago this wasn't even an issue. I think it comes down to risk profiling. Some countries are rolling out chip'n'pin, some destinations are known for using cloned cards, and then there's your previous transaction history.

I've seen cards in Asia where EVERY TIME you do a foreign transaction you get a text (instantly) with a one-time code. If you reply, the card gets blocked. Now that would be handy for fraud prevention (well preventing subsequent frauds) - but I've never seen it in the UK.