How to ensure your French bank card works abroad
High levels of international fraud mean many banks block international payments by default
Banks may block unusual payments that do not match your spending profile
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Anti-fraud measures employed by banks can often see attempts to use a bank card abroad automatically declined, an irritant and potentially worse for travellers expecting to be able to use their card.
A rise in international fraud has seen many French banks and institutions switch to a default position of blocking all transactions from outside of Europe unless given prior information about a trip.
They may also block unusual payments that do not match your spending profile, several repeated payments in a short amount of time, or large sum requests.
Transactions in the UK are usually not subject to an automatic block for travellers as the UK is part of the Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA) that covers institutions across Europe.
However, travellers to countries including the United States, Canada, Australia etc could be affected.
We look at ways to minimise payment disruption.
Inform your bank of travel plans
The best course of action is to inform your bank in advance before going abroad outside of Europe.
You can usually do this via your bank’s smartphone application, after logging into your account space on the bank’s website, or in-person by making an appointment with your advisor.
Let the bank know where you are going and for how long, as well as officially asking them to authorise payments from that country (or more generally at an international level) during those dates.
Let your bank know if there are any changes to your travel plans.
Some banks may also allow you to authorise non-SEPA payments via app or website, however it is still advised to inform the bank of your travel plans.
You may also want to increase the daily usage limits before travelling, both for ATM withdrawals and card payments, in the event you need to make an expensive purchase.
You can also increase the rolling limit on card transactions to cover higher-than-usual expenditure whilst on holiday.
If you did not do this before travelling and your card is stopped, it may be possible to unblock it by calling your bank’s customer service or international support line and verifying yourself.
Other options include taking local currency with you, having a card with a pre-paid amount of funds on it, or using a second bank card that is always unlocked to international payments.
