Second question from newbie: ATM usage in South Africa

"Caveat" schreef in bericht
...
"Corné" wrote:


What is the question?

Well, as I said:

"Soooo, do any of you people out there know for sure if a Visa branded
Cirrus-affiliated ATM card will work in one of the MasterCard Cirrus
affiliated ATMs in South Africa (at places like Standard and ABSA
banks, for instance)?"


Yes they do. All Cirrus cards work here.


Slainte.

Corné.

www.outtoafrica.com

"Catherine Milton" wrote:

Okay, as I see it, the question is do our machines accept foreign debit
cards, Visa, as well as the credit cards, which they DO accept. And the
answer is: I don't know. But since no-one else seems to know either, I'll
try to find out in the morning.

Thank you very much Catherine. It's a complicated question (which
accounts for the long initial query here). I have emailed two banks in
South Africa (standard and ABSA) with the specific question:

"We will be taking a vacation to South Africa next
month from our home in the USA, and have a question
about using our debit/credit card in your ATM machines
to withdraw funds directly from our
financial institution here in the US. We did this in
several countries in Europe last summer, but the Visa
ATM locater does not show your bank as a place at
which we can use our card. The situation is apparently
related to the fact that our card is a Visa card with
a Cirrus logo on the back -- which they tell me is
unusual (most Visa cards are associated with the Plus
system, while Cirrus is associated with the
MasterCard). I know that the initial numbers on all
cards identifies the card as being a Visa or
MasterCard. We do not have a MasterCard, and our
financial institution does not issue them. So, the
question is, will our Visa/Cirrus card work in your
MasterCard/Cirrus ATM machines?"

No reply from them thus far and the only answer I have been able to
get to the question after a week of checking USA resources is
"Probably." It sure would be nice to get a firmer answer :-). It may
be a question that no one really has thought of before.

In any case, thank you for your help. Sorry to be a burden on the
group. If there is anything anyone here needs help with, or
information about, Arizona or elsewhere in the US please feel free to
ask. I'll do my best to provide assistance.

Regards,


Caveat
=certainly eccentric, and maybe also a wee bit senile=

My experience is that only BOB machines give me cash on my card in SA.
My card is STAR and PLUS network. I've tried every possible ATM brand
in CT and most of the neighboring countries, and BOBs the only one that
works for me.

YMMV

--riverman

BOB is Visa. And we do have the two types he Cirrus and Visa, and if
Caveat's cad has both that may be what creates the problem. I'll check it
our on Monday, if I remember.

Catherine
==Not nuts, just a little eccentric==
www.africanbush.co.za
African Bush Tours and Safaris
P O Box 232, Rouxville, 9958, South Africa
Tel (+27) 051 663-0170 or Mobile (+27) 082 490-5485


"riverman" wrote in message
oups.com...
My experience is that only BOB machines give me cash on my card in SA.
My card is STAR and PLUS network. I've tried every possible ATM brand
in CT and most of the neighboring countries, and BOBs the only one that
works for me.

YMMV

--riverman

"riverman" wrote:

My experience is that only BOB machines give me cash on my card in SA.
My card is STAR and PLUS network. I've tried every possible ATM brand
in CT and most of the neighboring countries, and BOBs the only one that
works for me.


Thanks, that's good info. The Star and Plus systems are the ones
normally accessed with Visa Cards. That's obviously why Visa says that
there aren't many machines in South Africa that in which their cards
will work. Our cards have a Star logo in addition to the Cirrus
emblem. So the only possibility left is that the Cirrus link will
allow greater access with our Visa card. That's the question I posed
to the banks there (and which a couple of people in this newsgroup
might be able to provide an answer to). What does BOB stand for?

There's another thing. When I use my bankcard to draw cash from my
savings account, I can only use a BOB machine. But when I'm using my
VISA card, I have to avoid the green 'Nedbank' scanning machines, as
for some reason they don't connect to my account. More than once I've
been refused credit on one machine, then had them switch to another
brand and had it go through. Fortunately, regular haunts like Cape
Union Mart have both types, but other places often only have Nedbank,
and I can't use my credit card there.

However, Caveat, I have been to SA about a dozen times and don't even
blink anymore about the ATM or credit card situation. It takes a few
minutes to find a machine that works, note the brand, and you quickly
learn where they are. Same with your credit card: you'll find it very
easy to discover where you can use it (which will be almost anywhere).
Go and be unafraid. :-)

--riverman

"riverman" wrote:

...However, Caveat, I have been to SA about a dozen times and don't even
blink anymore about the ATM or credit card situation. It takes a few
minutes to find a machine that works, note the brand, and you quickly
learn where they are. Same with your credit card: you'll find it very
easy to discover where you can use it (which will be almost anywhere).

Go and be unafraid. :-)


Ok, going and unafraid (:-o)...

On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 07:51:34 -0700, Caveat
wrote:


Thank you, Marc. (Again.)

You not only found the question, but provided a very helpful response.


My pleasure...

BTW, only a complete novice traveller or a complete fool would accept
assistance from someone who voulnteers to help you at an ATM. I would
NEVER use an ATM or bank at any African airport, unless I was
absolutely confident that I was going to be safe. (ie. not using a
taxi to get to town, not carrying huge bags etc.)

My simple rule of self-preservation is "If it feels unsafe, it
probably is". If I'm at an ATM, and there are people too close to me,
I remove my card, and tell them to move away from the machine. If they
don't get away, then I'm outa there.

It's the same with crowds. I was at a music concert at a local rugby
stadium, and while standing in a queue I became uncomfortable about
the group of people who were surrounding me. I raised my voice, pushed
some away, and then realised that one of them was trying to take my
wallet. When he realised that he's been rumbled, he glared at me in a
menacing way. I don't know what happened to me, but I just slapped him
across the ear with a full blow, and he and his friends ran away :-)

I've had attempted muggings in several places around the world, but
none have ever succeeded. I think it's because I'm aware that they're
about to happen, and I act swiftly to stop them.

Marc

Marc Lurie wrote:

BTW, only a complete novice traveller or a complete fool would accept
assistance from someone who voulnteers to help you at an ATM. I would
NEVER use an ATM or bank at any African airport, unless I was
absolutely confident that I was going to be safe. (ie. not using a
taxi to get to town, not carrying huge bags etc.)

My simple rule of self-preservation is "If it feels unsafe, it
probably is". If I'm at an ATM, and there are people too close to me,
I remove my card, and tell them to move away from the machine. If they
don't get away, then I'm outa there.

It's the same with crowds. I was at a music concert at a local rugby
stadium, and while standing in a queue I became uncomfortable about
the group of people who were surrounding me. I raised my voice, pushed
some away, and then realised that one of them was trying to take my
wallet. When he realised that he's been rumbled, he glared at me in a
menacing way. I don't know what happened to me, but I just slapped him
across the ear with a full blow, and he and his friends ran away :-)

I've had attempted muggings in several places around the world, but
none have ever succeeded. I think it's because I'm aware that they're
about to happen, and I act swiftly to stop them.


Ah, urban survival skills. We are pretty well versed in that here in
Arizona. Being armed in questionable areas and circumstances is de
regieur here in the Wild West. An armed society is a polite society.

YeeeHaaaaw!

"What does BOB stand for?"

Its an ATM brand. Originally, it was connected to Barclay's Bank
(Barclay's Of Something or Other), but when First National took over
Barclay's, they kept the cash machines under the old 'BoB' label.

Its been a while since I was in the US so I forget how it works there,
but in SA the ATMs are almost always (if not always) associated with a
bank. First National, BoB, Nedbank, etc, all have their own proprietary
machines; some cards work on some machines, some dont, some charge you
a fee if your account is not with their bank, some don't. You'll learn
what works for you.

You will often encounter the ATMs in small clusters. The exchange rate
is fixed, so that's in common, at least. In Cape Town at the Waterfront
Mall, there is a kiosk in the parking lot with 4 ATM machines from 4
different banks. I use the BoB ones. There are also a host of ATMs at
the Joberg arrivals hall, on the right when you come out over by the
post office. I recommend getting cash from those, as they are
convienient and its in a good, safe spot. If you have a triband phone
(your US cell phone won't work in SA), you can get a SIMcard at the
Vodacom shop right there, also.

--riverman