Starling and Monzo no longer working

pramsay13

We are spending a year abroad in Uganda and deliberately opened a Starling and Monzo account to allow us to withdraw cash.
It worked great the first few times but now says 'This transaction has been cancelled by the ATM' and spits out the card. Same for both Starling and Monzo, and same in any bank here.
I have to use Halifax Clarity which is also Mastercard although this charges interest on cash withdrawals so not ideal.
The Starling customer service are at a loss and are looking into it but wondering if anyone here has any ideas.

Westin

Can't help with the reason why Starling/Monzo cards are not working in ATM's but I think your tale is a good example of why people should have various and multiple options for cash withdrawals and spending when travelling. Thankfully you had the forethought to travel with other cards.

The Halifax Clarity card remains a good option even on cash withdrawals. Whilst a small amount of interest is charged you can always make payments to offset charges post-withdrawal or pay in full at the next statement date.

londoninvestor

Westin wrote: »

The Halifax Clarity card remains a good option even on cash withdrawals. Whilst a small amount of interest is charged you can always make payments to offset charges post-withdrawal or pay in full at the next statement date.

Santander Zero too, with the extra benefit that you can withdraw from local Santander ATMs without an ATM fee - it was the only way I found in New York to get cash without paying a fee to the ATM operator. A bit less relevant in Uganda, I'll grant you

budgetflyer

I had this in India with Monzo. You have to go into the App to enable the Magna strip on the card. Your card should then work.
I think its because the machine reads the strip and not the chip.

photome

budgetflyer wrote: »

I had this in India with Monzo. You have to go into the App to enable the Magna strip on the card. Your card should then work.
I think its because the machine reads the strip and not the chip.

If that works, it would be great if OP returns with a positive outcome

pramsay13

budgetflyer wrote: »

I had this in India with Monzo. You have to go into the App to enable the Magna strip on the card. Your card should then work.
I think its because the machine reads the strip and not the chip.

I tried this magna strip option with Monzo card but still no go.
Starling doesn't have this option.
Interestingly we tried another bank that we have previously avoided due to much higher fees (around £7 to withdraw £200 versus around £1 to withdraw same amount) and this one works so we can either pay lower fees and possibly daily interest using Halifax clarity, or higher fees and use Starling / Monzo.

Voyager2002

pramsay13 wrote: »

we can either pay lower fees and possibly daily interest using Halifax clarity, or higher fees and use Starling / Monzo.

If you can pay your Halifax Clarity using online banking or similar then the interest charges should be minimal. I cannot imagine that they would reach the level of the fees you mention so long as you pay it off regularly.

And how is Uganda apart from the banks?

londoninvestor

Voyager2002 wrote: »

If you can pay your Halifax Clarity using online banking or similar then the interest charges should be minimal. I cannot imagine that they would reach the level of the fees you mention so long as you pay it off regularly.

Worst case, even a direct debit to pay off every statement in full would beat the kind of fees we're talking about here - and you can set that up once without needing regular access.

pramsay13

Can get internet banking here so easy enough to transfer cash to pay off the credit card.