I'm in Nepal and my Umpqua ATM card stopped working
January 16, 2016 8:38 AM   Subscribe

I am preparing to depart Nepal, and need to pay several hundred dollars for some different things. Umpqua bank has chosen this time to stop allowing me access to my account.

I am currently in Nepal, having been here since mid-September of last year.

A week before I left the States, I stopped by my local Umpqua Bank branch and let them know that I would be out of the country until February 29th, 2016. I wanted to make sure that I was able to use my card in Nepal.

Other than dealing with the frequent power outages in Nepal, accessing my Umpqua account has been relatively painless—that is, until about three days ago when I was no longer able to access my funds.

When I attempt to make a withdrawal, everything looks fine right up almost to the “here’s your money” step, but then it says that the transaction has been terminated.

In the past, this has happened when the ATM was out of receipt paper, or when then ATM was running off of a lesser current from a generator (during one of the power outages).

I tried on multiple ATMs in case there was a problem with a particular ATM, but the other ATMs tell me the same thing (one ATM from a different bank was a little more helpful saying that the transaction was actually declined by the bank.)

Here's the thing.
I have been taking out rupees as I need them (I don't want to carry around a three-month-supply fist-full of rupees), I gradually winnow them down until I need more, at which time I go to the ATM again.

So, now, I am getting ready to leave Nepal (my visa extension runs out in a week) and
I need to pay my GUEST HOUSE BILL,
I need to make a RENT PAYMENT for a Nepali student that I am sponsoring,
and I need to buy my PLANE TICKET

I need this fixed ASAP—I am kind of freaking out
because right now
I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO ACCESS TO MY MONEY
.

In the last 24 hours, I have sent this basic information to Umpqua via
their online contact form,
a customer service email that I found for them,
and I messaged them via their Facebook page.

Of course, as luck would have it, I found out about this screwup just as the we are going into the weekend, so of course Umpqua probably won't see any of those messages for over 48 hours.

The only thing that I can think of, is that I had a family member drop some extra money into my account a few days ago—perhaps, Umpqua's computer saw money being deposited into my account in Portland and wrongly assumed that that must mean I was back in the USA... and so they turned "OFF" the approved international access.

I am kind of freaking out because I did everything right, but now this screwup is throwing a huge monkey wrench into everything. And I'm not sure I have a way to fix it from 7,000 miles away. Also, right now I have about $18 in rupees to hold me over until (if) Umpqua decides to turn my international access back “ON”.

Have any of you dealt with something like this before? Did the bank fix it quickly or was it a huge pain in the ass? Since I can't exactly stop into an Umpqua branch, I fear that they are going to want something I can't give them—like them saying “Oh sure, just call any branch during business hours...”

Nepal is 13.75 hours ahead of Portland, so when the bank is open for business, all of Nepal is closed down for the long winter night (there are no internet-telephone cafes—or really, anything—open here after 10pm here).

I did find an "if your outside of the USA..." phone number for them which I called about 30 minutes ago but all it was was an automated message. There was the option to leave a call-back number (so, I guess they could try to call me in Nepal at like midnight, but that wouldn't be until next Monday night at the earliest)—and the lines here are not the greatest with frequent drops or one party not being able to hear the other. Argh!

Okay, I have emailed my family member, asking them to call my Umpqua branch today (Saturday morning in Portland) and try to explain the situation—
“Family member is still in Nepal, I deposited some funds for him a couple of days ago (which may have caused this), but please turn his access back on because right now he has no access to his money and he needs it badly.”
but I don't know if they will say
“Oh, okay, sorry about that!”
or
“Sure... tell us another, Captain Scams-a-lot!”
An idea that I just came up with as I was typing this, would be to try to call them over my MacBook using FaceTime audio... but I just tried using it to call, and it tells me [the number I'm calling] “is not available for FaceTime” (I guess because it is an international number since I am in Nepal...?)

Any ideas?

(it's so frustrating to do everything right beforehand and then have your bank totally block you from your funds anyway!)
posted by blueberry to Work & Money (18 answers total)
 
If you have a credit card, it will be expensive, but you can probably borrow cash from it at atms or a local bank. Credit card help line should be more easily accessible for help with this. They may also have a traveler's cash emergency program of some kind.
posted by cacao at 8:49 AM on January 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


Call the number for lost or stolen cards and see if they can help. They're likely to be opened weekends.
posted by Milau at 8:50 AM on January 16, 2016 [5 favorites]


Can you have a family member wire you money via Western Union and then pay them back when you return to the States in a few days?
posted by jacquilynne at 8:55 AM on January 16, 2016 [6 favorites]


If you can set up a Google Voice account, you could use that to try calling—or use Skype if you have that.

Otherwise, I would suggest a credit card cash advance, presuming you have a card. Even if you don't have a PIN, a bank branch should be able to handle that.

If you don't have a credit card, but you have a family member who can send you money, find a Western Union agent near you and have your family member wire you money. It will be relatively expensive but it will allow you to pay your bills and buy your ticket.
posted by brianogilvie at 8:56 AM on January 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


Seems like a fraud flag might have triggered on your account. You probably can only resolve this by having a phone conversation with your bank. (not via email or facebook, due to security concerns)
posted by dcjd at 9:02 AM on January 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


My ATM card stopped working when I went to India (even though I told the bank about it). I called the 800 number via Skype and they removed the block on the account without issue. So, it's worth calling them. If you can't get the computer calling to work you might be able to call your relative and then have them conference in the other number.
posted by melissasaurus at 9:04 AM on January 16, 2016 [2 favorites]


I'm guessing the US embassy has dealt with things like this before. I would contact them, in person if possible.
posted by desjardins at 9:04 AM on January 16, 2016 [3 favorites]


Fwiw, Monday here in the states is a bank holiday, Martin Luther King, Jr Day so your branch will not be open until Tuesday.
posted by AugustWest at 9:08 AM on January 16, 2016 [4 favorites]


Yes, use Skype or Google Voice. FaceTime Audio only works to call Apple devices.
posted by zsazsa at 9:11 AM on January 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: I have no credit card with me.

Right after I posted this, I did get a reply from an Elizabeth at Umpqua Customer Service saying:

“...I sincerely apologize that you are experiencing difficulty using your debit card internationally. This type of e-mail is not a secure method of communication; therefore, I am unable to provide any specific information or perform any maintenance. Please give us a call...
Alternatively, if you provide your full phone number including country code, and an approximate time to reach you, we would be happy to call you.”


I replied with my Nepal cell phone number and said “now” would be a great time to call, but so far it’s been about an hour, so I don’t know if my reply is now at the bottom of her queue and it’ll take another 24 hours or so to get back to me.

Hopefully something good will come of this.

(although I still asked my family member to call my branch Saturday morning just in case that helps)
posted by blueberry at 9:17 AM on January 16, 2016


In the interim can you get a loved one to wire you money via western union? Similar thing happened to me in Indonesia and it was because I used an Indonesian travel service to buy a domestic plane ticket, yadda yadda they froze my account.
posted by pintapicasso at 9:19 AM on January 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


Honestly, I have no idea if this would in anyway help, but I am in Portland and Umpqua is just down the street (and is my bank). I would be happy to deliver an in-person message. Feel free to pm me.
posted by nanook at 9:34 AM on January 16, 2016 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: Huzzah! Elizabeth for the WIN!

I just received a call on my Nepali cell from Elizabeth, she asked me a couple of security questions and then let me know that the issue would be fixed after about five minutes! So, it should work tomorrow morning. :)

Yay!
posted by blueberry at 9:44 AM on January 16, 2016 [18 favorites]


Yay! If it doesn't work, I actually had a family member wire me money to Nepal when my money belt was stolen (literally on the bus from the trailhead after completing the Annapurna circuit!) and it worked fine.

Good luck!
posted by lunasol at 9:57 AM on January 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thanks everyone for all of your help and suggestions—I think I was really freaking out because with the time-differences, and the ticking visa clock, and everything I felt like the situation was a perfect storm of
“You are not going to be able to fix this from where you are”
I am going to go and mark this as resolved and let out a huge sigh of relief. Thanks all!
posted by blueberry at 10:00 AM on January 16, 2016 [7 favorites]


Yay! Glad to hear that it appears to be resolved.

I didn't mention this earlier because it wasn't helpful, but in the future you might consider getting an American Express card and bringing a few checks with you. Their Express Cash service allows you to link your card to your bank account and use it to withdraw funds: Amex will give you the money and then make a draft against your bank account. There's a fee ($5 or 3%, whichever is larger), as well as the annual Amex card fee, but unlike credit card cash advances, there is no interest rate, and it's a lower fee than Western Union.

Their Global Services also include a provision for small emergency cash transfers via Western Union, at a discounted rate, though I think in that case they charge the amount to your card and charge interest until it's paid.
posted by brianogilvie at 3:19 PM on January 16, 2016


For future reference, using Skype would mean first setting up an account with money in it because you are calling a landline not a computer. Possibly someone at home could do this for you if you gave them your password.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 3:27 PM on January 16, 2016


For anyone who might need the info in the future; unless this has changed very recently, banks in Nepal don't accept any brand of credit cards for cash advances, no matter what your credit card company tells you. In 2013 my wallet was stolen in Kathmandu. My back-up credit card wasn't stolen, but I'd forgotten its ATM PIN, so I called the (US) CC company's international toll-free number for help. The rep told me he couldn't do anything about recovering or resetting the PIN on the phone - he assured me, though, that any bank in the world would give me an advance on the card. "Just stop in any bank, it doesn't matter which bank, no problem."

No dice - only bewildered looks from the staff at each bank I visited in Kathmandu. Finally, at Standard Chartered the manager informed me that Nepali banks stopped providing this service sometime in 2011. In two days, I was due to spend a week researching in India - I ended up having to borrow money from local friends, and my husband sent me a Western Union transfer from the US to India (a whole other ordeal I'd rather not revisit). All of this over Indian and US national holidays. My own banks, CC companies, even Amex, were unable/unwilling to do anything to expedite card replacements, advance cash, or do any of those things their commercials promise they can do.

Next time I'll take at least one back-up *debit* card and keep it somewhere other than my wallet. I'll make sure to have the CC PINs! It did all work out, but it wasn't easy.
posted by infodiva at 7:36 PM on January 18, 2016 [1 favorite]


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