'VISA Debit Card problems'

VISA Debit Card problems

By Roy from Curitiba at 06/08/09 16:30

Today I sent the following email to the CEO  of the Nationwide Building Society

Dear Graham Beale,

As you are a Director of Visa Europe I'd like to bring to your attention a problem which has just begun to occur with my use of my Visa Debit Card at ATMs in Curitiba Brazil.   I have raised my difficulties in using my Visa Debit Card in Brazil via my Internet Account messages but I think it may well be a corporate issue rather than a mere system glitch.

Nationwide tell me there is no problem with my account, and as the ATMs merely connect me into the Visa system,  it seems that some new policy is being applied by Visa Brazil.

I suspect that Visa Brazil has changed their system so as to block Debit Cards but permit Credit cards. Today, neither HSBC, Bank of Brazil nor Bradesco would accept my Debit card in the same ATMs where I have frequently drawn cash without any problems for the past 30 months until a couple of weeks ago.

If this blockage to Debit Cards applies generally many thousands of Visa's European customers are going to get a nasty surprise when they try to use their Debit cards to draw cash in Brazil.  Many will have been advised to use cash rather than their Credit Cards because the risk of identity theft is very high over here, even when dealing with major companies.   

So, I'd be very grateful if you could ask your Visa colleagues to check my suspicions and, hopefully, require Visa Brazil to conform to the Visa International rules.


Many thanks


Roy Madron

Name:     (required)
Email:    (required, not published)
Comment: