Banking problem on holiday that could have left me stranded

km1500

I have never heard of any provider charging to receive texts while abroard - could you let me know which carrier you use?

HillStreetBlues

Brie said:

well yes I could but my UK network would charge me about £5 a day for access and another £2 for each text received and a huge amount for any calls I make or texts I send.  So I am cheap and remove the sim and get a temp replacement.  I'm cheap.

Who charges to receive a text?  thought that went out years ago

eDicky

Brie said:

eskbanker said:

Brie said:

My biggest problem when travelling is if I have to do any banking they want to send a code to my mobile.  And because I'm travelling I get a sim which I never know the number for in advance so can't set that up on my account.

So try to move money, OTP goes to my UK phone which I can't access in wherever I am.  So online banking is impossible.  I've asked my bank how I can get around this and have been told flatly that I can't.

You could use a dual SIM phone, or banking apps that don't entail use of SMS?

well yes I could but my UK network would charge me about £5 a day for access and another £2 for each text received

No, incoming SMS are not chargeable on any network globally. So your inability to receive banking OTPs without cost while roaming is imaginary.

AmityNeon

Brie said:

eskbanker said:

Brie said:

My biggest problem when travelling is if I have to do any banking they want to send a code to my mobile. And because I'm travelling I get a sim which I never know the number for in advance so can't set that up on my account.

So try to move money, OTP goes to my UK phone which I can't access in wherever I am. So online banking is impossible. I've asked my bank how I can get around this and have been told flatly that I can't.

You could use a dual SIM phone, or banking apps that don't entail use of SMS?

well yes I could but my UK network would charge me about £5 a day for access and another £2 for each text received and a huge amount for any calls I make or texts I send. So I am cheap and remove the sim and get a temp replacement. I'm cheap.

£5 a day for data access sounds like Three outside of Europe, one of the most expensive roaming options, but as mentioned, receiving SMS is free. Outside the EU, data-only eSIMs can offer extremely good value (Martin himself describes his first experience using one in June 2023), and there's even free international roaming (with ads) which can serve as a superior substitute to emergency Wi-Fi whenever you just need some basic connectivity.

friolento

Brie said:

So try to move money, OTP goes to my UK phone which I can't access in wherever I am.  So online banking is impossible.  I've asked my bank how I can get around this and have been told flatly that I can't.

You can access it via a VPN. This lets you pretend you are in the UK

Brie said:

Net result is that I have everything set up in advance.  So if I know I will want money transferred from my bank account to my travel credit card I do it before I leave and guess at the timing for it to be on my card.  

I never transfer any money to my travel CCs ahead of the bill, which gets paid by DD as and when it’s due. 

In fact, at least one of my CCs doesn’t allow a positive balance so even if I wanted to, I could not deposit money into my CC.

If an exceptional manual payment to the CC was needed whilst I am abroad, I could again make use of my VPN connection to avoid any hassle.

eDicky

friolento said:

Brie said:

So try to move money, OTP goes to my UK phone which I can't access in wherever I am.  So online banking is impossible.  I've asked my bank how I can get around this and have been told flatly that I can't.

You can access it via a VPN. This lets you pretend you are in the UK

Brie said:

Net result is that I have everything set up in advance.  So if I know I will want money transferred from my bank account to my travel credit card I do it before I leave and guess at the timing for it to be on my card.  

If an exceptional manual payment to the CC was needed whilst I am abroad, I could again make use of my VPN connection to avoid any hassle.

I don't understand the purpose of a VPN - why the need to pretend you're in UK to access online banking..?

friolento

eDicky said:

friolento said:

Brie said:

So try to move money, OTP goes to my UK phone which I can't access in wherever I am.  So online banking is impossible.  I've asked my bank how I can get around this and have been told flatly that I can't.

You can access it via a VPN. This lets you pretend you are in the UK

Brie said:

Net result is that I have everything set up in advance.  So if I know I will want money transferred from my bank account to my travel credit card I do it before I leave and guess at the timing for it to be on my card.  

If an exceptional manual payment to the CC was needed whilst I am abroad, I could again make use of my VPN connection to avoid any hassle.

I don't understand the purpose of a VPN - why the need to pretend you're in UK to access online banking..?

You only need that if you are prohibited from logging in when abroad, like one or two people seem to be..

gt94sss2

1. Always take more than one debit/credit card with you. It is not uncommon for banks to block cards if they are used overseas even if you have hold them you are going in advance. 

2. Receiving UK text messages overseas to UK mobiles (including in Japan) is free. No need for a VPN as suggested by others and in fact that can cause problems.

3. Japan does not have much free/public WiFi. However, hotels etc will have it available for guests and visitors.

4. I would suggest carrying both Visa and MasterCard cards. There are still some places in Japan including some ATMs which will only accept one brand and not the other. 

5. I would not use Monzo to withdraw money in Japan as they limit the amount of cash you can withdraw from an ATM without imposing additional charges.

6. One option for you to consider using overseas is the HSBC Global Money account. https://www.hsbc.co.uk/current-accounts/products/global-money/

7. Depending on your mobile, it can also be useful to load your cards on Apple/Google Pay as a backup even if you are not carrying the physical cards with you.

friolento

gt94sss2 said:

2. Receiving UK text messages overseas to UK mobiles (including in Japan) is free. No need for a VPN as suggested by others and in fact that can cause problems.#

A VPN has not been suggested for receiving text messages but for accessing online / app banking in the event access from abroad is barred.

lr1277

I am led to believe certain software types are either banned or restricted in certain countriesl. You need to do your research before travelling. This snippet from the internet suggests VPN use in China is restricted but possible. As I said DYOR. I am not guaranteeing the accuracy of this snippet.

Are VPNs in China illegal? Short answer: VPNs are not illegal in China, but their use is heavily restricted. Long answer: Using a VPN in China is not officially illegal. China allows VPN providers to operate as long as they cooperate with the state, which defeats the privacy purpose of having a VPN in the first place.