I notified my bank before I travelled so I could use my credit cards but ......
Experts will tell you its always best to travel with 3 forms of funds. Small amounts of cash for incidentals, a major credit card and a debit or money card. This gives you options should one be comprised, lost or if you have a technology failure.
Most people will know to contact your bank before you travel. Let them know where you'll be and when. This will ensure the use of your credit and debit cards won't be halted for suspicious activity during your shopping abroad. But there's one thing that often slips the mind of travellers and it relates to internet banking. You may wish to make a payment or transfer funds to your money card while overseas from an iPad or laptop. Sounds easy, I mean you most likely do this regularly at home. So .... who's bank uses an SMS confirmation code when paying online or to a new payee? Just a simple 4-6 digit verification code that instantly sent to your mobile so quick its usually received before you get a chance to pick up your phone.
The problem exists when you decided to travel with an international pre-paid SIM for your phone. The roaming costs of your existing mobile number will most likely be significantly higher than the popular pre-paid SIM cards available on the market. But this is not the number your bank holds to verify online banking.
I had been using a Travelex money card successfully pre-loaded with pound and euro. This worked well through the Mastercard network and we paid for everything from taxi's, restaurants and tour tickets. All was good until I went to load additional funds through internet banking.
and then it dawned on me
I quickly realised I couldn't receive the SMS code to my phone as I had installed the pre-paid SIM card for the duration of our holiday. For security reasons changing your verification number is not something you'll be able to change yourself online. Only option was to contact my banks customer service and make alternative arrangements. In my case, it was to temporarily switch to an email verification. It did although take some hours to arrange, partly due to time differences and the usual 'bank' waiting times. Depending on how good or bad your bank is, it could be a major inconvenience to your holiday. Especially if this prompts your banking system to suspend your account until you are able to verify it's you attempting to transfer money from your account.
This was an oversight I didn't see coming. I'm usually extraordinary organised in every aspect of travel, especially in the finance department.
So, next time you travel abroad, ensure you not only notify your bank of your dates and destinations but ensure you are able to complete online banking transactions abroad. No problems if you take your existing mobile with global roaming switched on, but with the increased savings and popularity of pre-paid international SIM cards, you'll need to ensure you can still verify transactions in some way.
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