Smallworld, Azimo, Etc.

[semigoodlookin]

I have tried making a transaction from Azimo and Smallworld today and both have been rejected.

I phoned my bank to find out if they had blocked it, they hadn't.

So, I contacted Smallworld and they told me that they do not accept debit card payments if the card is being used outside the UK. I have a UK bank account/card, but because I am using it abroad I cannot use it.

Ok, weird rule I thought but it was only the second time I have used Smallworld so thought forget it and went back to Azimo.

Now Azimo is declining me saying my card is rejected... another call to the bank to be told everything is fine, but Azimo is still rejecting it. I am waiting for contact with them but can only assume it is for the same reason.

Is this something new, is it my problem, or is it a wider rule coming in?

 

[rrptownley]

Sounds like the Argentine government or AFIP may be demanding that from the money transfer services, no?
Did you ask Smallworld if it was exclusive to Argentina?

You should try using a VPN or Hola unblocker to change your IP address to the UK and see if that works.

 

[semigoodlookin]

I phoned Azimo and the girl told me she was just customer services and didn't know how to deal with my problem, she took my number and email and said they would get back. I am not holding my breath.

Smallworld has an online chat thing and the guy more or less said that this was the way the company worked. I asked how it was possible that my first transaction worked and he said that most times the first goes through before the system flags it. He said Mastercard/Visa tell them location and if it is outside the country you are sending from then it gets rejected.

I have used Azimo far more extensively and was shocked to see the same thing happen there, this looks like a new rule.

 

[niceguyeddie]

Can't you do a bank transfer from your UK bank account? Thats the way I did it with exchange4free.

 

[semigoodlookin]

Can't you do a bank transfer from your UK bank account? Thats the way I did it with exchange4free.

Can I bank transfer to Argenper and then collect it in cash at the blue rate?

 

[niceguyeddie]

Can I bank transfer to Argenper and then collect it in cash at the blue rate?

No, you do a bank transfer from your UK bank account to smallworld instead of using your debit card.

 

[glasgowjohn]

I made a transfer last week to Mrs Glasgowjohn using my Uk debit card and had no problems.

I was using my card from Ba and the transfer went through with no questions asked

This one was with Small World who have the best rates at the moment , at least ac rding to what I can see.

 

[datson2000]

I had the exact same problem, with SmallWorld this week. Absolute nightmare. They said my transaction was declined because I tried using my UK Citibank card outside of the UK. They said it was an "accounting department" decision which sounds idiotic but there you go. Problem is it tied up my cash with a pending transaction so I had to wait almost a full week for a refund. Bank Transfers are recommended but in my case I cant receive a one time pin by SMS (another story I wont bore you with).

Basically, I think this is a Smallworld issue. The Azimo issue is unrelated based on the fact that I used Azimo this week as a result of the Smallworld debacle.

 

[andesmandes]

So the solution would be to use a VPN? Also has anybody used Smallworld with funds sent from the US? They seem to have a better exchange rate than Xoom and even Ria.

 

[jantango]

All this trouble just to get the highest rate.

You should have been here in 1999-2000 when pesos were equal to dollars, and you didn't have to deal with money transfers. You spent pesos or dollars, and it didn't matter.