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> when I had $10k in my US bank account but couldn’t access it while traveling because I ran afoul of whatever KYC at Western Union after losing my bank card; o

by tw04 2y ago

> when I had $10k in my US bank account but couldn’t access it while traveling because I ran afoul of whatever KYC at Western Union after losing my bank card; or, Why would you first stop be western Union if you lost your bank card? Ignoring my confusion as to why you didn’t have a credit card handy, or a phone with a banking app handy if you’re well off enough to have $10k in the bank. Why would your first thought be going to western union, a well known haven for scammers everywhere. OF COURSE it set off all sorts of red flags with your bank. I’d be more concerned if they didn’t put up roadblocks to someone claiming to be you, in another country, trying to pull out large sums of money at a western union.

zmgsabst 2y ago
How do those things help? I had both a credit card and a phone; you can’t get cash with NFC. I was stuck using credit card services and cut off from most of the economy of the primarily cash-based society I was visiting. To the extent merchants accepted digital payments, it was primarily in their local banking app. > OF COURSE it set off all sorts of red flags with your bank. Do you not understand why I regard me standing at a WU branch with my passport in hand and access to my authenticator app on my phone, but unable to actually use the service regardless, as a frustrating experience? Roadblocks would have been fine: there was no road at all, no matter how many checkpoints I was willing to satisfy. From the same bank who happily allows online transactions to drain my account in obvious patterns of fraud from well-known fraudsters (eg, chat.versailles) without a single roadblock — so they can harvest fees.
- n_ary 2y ago
  No ATMs nearby? Usually unless you are in some severely impoverished nation, ATMs should allow to withdraw(with some hefty fees sometimes) some local currency.
  - zmgsabst 2y ago
    ATMs and banks (cash advances) supported cards and cards with chips, but not NFC. My physical cards were lost together — which admittedly was dumb, but losing your wallet while still having your passport and phone/Apple Wallet shouldn’t result in “frozen out of banking”.

by tw04 2y ago

zmgsabst 2y ago

How do those things help? I had both a credit card and a phone; you can’t get cash with NFC. I was stuck using credit card services and cut off from most of the economy of the primarily cash-based society I was visiting. To the extent merchants accepted digital payments, it was primarily in their local banking app. > OF COURSE it set off all sorts of red flags with your bank. Do you not understand why I regard me standing at a WU branch with my passport in hand and access to my authenticator app on my phone, but unable to actually use the service regardless, as a frustrating experience? Roadblocks would have been fine: there was no road at all, no matter how many checkpoints I was willing to satisfy. From the same bank who happily allows online transactions to drain my account in obvious patterns of fraud from well-known fraudsters (eg, chat.versailles) without a single roadblock — so they can harvest fees.

n_ary 2y ago
No ATMs nearby? Usually unless you are in some severely impoverished nation, ATMs should allow to withdraw(with some hefty fees sometimes) some local currency.
- zmgsabst 2y ago
  ATMs and banks (cash advances) supported cards and cards with chips, but not NFC. My physical cards were lost together — which admittedly was dumb, but losing your wallet while still having your passport and phone/Apple Wallet shouldn’t result in “frozen out of banking”.