VISA problem at ATM's

[VoluntarioGlobal]

JG,
I have been able to withdraw using my Chase VISA Debit card at Banco Ciudad, on the corner of Juncal and Callao. I understand you can make a withdrawal at any ATM that is part of the LINK network.
Brian.

 

[Jessica]

I am tempted to try an atm today with banelco to see if it has been fixed. I don't know anything of the ba Herald to know if it a reputable source (but I will assume, that you know it to be such). The funny thing is that it says that it will return to the $300 peso limit, which I never experienced! I have never taken out more than $500 at a time (my husband has recently taken out $1000 at a link machine), so I don't truly know our Banelco limit, but it was more than $300.
In response to your question, my US credit union rep told me that you could present your card in a bank and make a withdraw, (and that she has experienced that in other parts of the world). But I will admit I haven't tried it! We withdrew from a link bank instead.
Jessica

 

[JG]

A letter that ummm, someone i know, wrote to the BA Herald about this problem, appears in todays issue. See online (www.buenosairesherald.com) under "Your Views", letters.
In response to Jessica above, i went into several banks, including Banco Galicia and they said a defiant NO!!! when i asked for a cash advance and had no clue where i could get one. Yes, in many countries, including Nicaragua, i got many cash advances.
This is from todays, sat., BA Herald. I didnt pick up the paper, my guess is this is just an excerpt. Has anyone seen ANYthing in Clarin or la nacion?




Banks wash hands over ATM glitches







Although the three 100-peso per day withdrawal cap was raised to three 300-peso withdrawals a day, many readers pointed out that historically the maximum daily allowance was 1,500 pesos.
The Herald contacted a number of local banks which said that they had nothing to do with the problem and explained that it was the sole responsibility of the card companies.
On Thursday a Visa spokeswoman attributed the problem to the erroneous interpretation of a Visa Plus ruling issued by its head office

 

[loribuenosaires]

I could always take out 500 pesos with my visa check card but now I can't. And I get charged US$1.50 per withdrawal so this probem is costing me allot of money. In reality I wouild love to be able to take out more than 500 to save on the ATM machines. Also, bank wires from the states cost me 10 US dollars each wire in my US bank account. Banking is becoming extremely costly and problematic for you. I'd love to get a bank account here to cut down on ATM fee's, wire fees and to be able to take more money out a time but not sure if that's possible.

 

[loribuenosaires]

PS
I also took some money out the other day, first asked the ATM how much I had and then took out less. It was a long weekend in the US and I was overdraft. I did not realize that the ATM would charge me not only for the withdrawal but also for asking how much money I had. I got chared so much for that error! I called the bank and they just told me to keep a physical register of my account and not believv the ATM amount. I don't do that many transactions so I thought it was safe. That or at least check online first. I got charged allot for only, what they say, was a 3 dollar error. I did not eve know it was possible to take out more than one has. I'm so frustrated with banking now! I am thinking of having my money wired to me via PayPal from now on.

 

[ericdharma]

Sounds really frustrating SF girl. If you still have not been able to resolve your dilemma I just wanted you to know that I too use a Visa checkcard and I have still been able to withdraw up to 1000 pesos at Banco Nacional de Paris. There are a few locations in the city. In Palermo where I am living there is one on the corner of Las Heras and Colonel Diaz. I think that there is also a location in Puerto Madero. When asked which network that you want to use just pick the CIRRUS option. I found that the fee that I was charged was about 20 cents less than the Banelco system used to charge me. I hope that this works for you as well. I also have a Paypal account but I never realized that I could have money wired via them. My Paypal account is already linked to my bank account. Could you explain to me how that would work? I was looking into this before and I got the impression that you could only get money from them if they issued an e-check. The problem for me was that this check would be sent to my mailing address in the US. I would then have to figure out a way to have it sent here and then figure out some way to cash it at a foriegn bank. If I could figure out a way to make the Paypal scenario work that would be a good back up option for me if something happens to my card. Thanks for any info that you can help me with.

 

[Stanexpat]

You should also be worrying about what they are charging as well. The wife tried Banelco the other day, got $300 pesos and was charged $32 pesos more than 10%!!! She also tried link got $500 pesos with the same $32 peso charge roughly 6.5%!!!! This is highway robbery. I haven't used my card for about a month which is mastercard but I had noted that the charges had been substanially increased and I am charged a very high 3% and this doesn't include a fee my U.S. bank charges although this is small. For people living here you can open a bank account and after six months I have been told you can transfer $3,000 a month in. You could go to the bank within draw the money in person and thereby avoid the atm fees. However my confidence in the banking system here is low. They charge high fees and give bad service. My guess is that they will cook up some other fees that will make this option also expensive.
I am going to start using credit cards as much as possible which I will then pay via the internet from my U.S. bank (i.e. bi-pass the local banks as much as possible). I will still need some cash but I will try to minimise my needs. I

 

[loribuenosaires]

EricDharma and everybody..........
As soon as I get my Paypal account set up I will post all info. It is my beliefe they send you a ATM like card and you withdraw the money like that. I wrote them a question though and am waiting a reply.
I wonder if I open an account with my Argentine fiance if that will make a difference in me having better banking than if I opened one alone?
In the crisis I had my money in an Argentine boyfriends account and they froze my dollars. I too worry about the banks here.

 

[canadatoba]

it seems to be working okay again. I can get out 300 peso's at a time with my debit card. Also look for the "link" sign at an ATM (you can get out 900 pesos at a time with the "link" system. I just did this today). I hope this helps.

 

[ericdharma]

I am checking back in to let everyone know that using the BNP machines is not quite the sweet deal that I thought that it was. There system is a Link 2 system and they hit me with 2 fees. One was a $5 foreign transaction fee and the other was there $2.58 regular ATM fee OUCH!!!. I am usually charged $1.60 by Banelco so the same amount of money under the new system would set me back $4.80. The only saving grace for BNP is that I don't know what there withdrawal limit is. If it is high enough it might equal out and I will just get larger sums of money less frequently. If not I may be forced to just use plastic or let Banelco stick it to me every few days.