Transaction declined: My credit card was cancelled while I was overseas

Somewhere between Uber, Visa and ANZ bank something went very wrong.

“I assure you we use only the latest in technology.”

Our itinerary has us on the road for more than 6 months. Before we left home I signed up for one of those super-duper credit cards that generate a bunch of Qantas Frequent Flyer points and a bonus 70,000 points if I spent a certain amount within a certain time. I got this credit card for three reasons:

1. I wanted backup cards while travelling in case one was lost, stolen or compromised.
2. We were going to be spending a bunch of money anyway, so this was a way of getting something back from it (in the form of points to be used towards hotels and car hire).
3. The ridiculously large annual fee was waived for the first year as an incentive to sign up.

Because of the points incentive and high credit limit this became my primary credit card for the trip, and I used it for just about everything: booking accommodation online and through Airbnb; charging Uber and Lyft rides; and retail and restaurant transactions.

I have a ‘just-in-time’ policy for paying off my monthly statement, transferring the whole amount owing just before the due date, so that I never pay interest but my cash is still being useful in a mortgage offset account. This has caused embarrassment a few times when waitstaff have (very politely) returned to ask me if I’d like to try another card.

“Why yes, I would like to try another card.”

Last week my card started getting declined. I knew I had credit available because I had just paid off a large amount in anticipation of more charges as we booked accommodation for the next leg. I sent a secure message to ANZ, my bank in Australia, through the bank’s internet banking portal. They replied that they had picked up suspected fraudulent activity on the card and my card was suspended. They had tried to call me but failed. I needed to call them to answer some questions about it. They said I could call reverse-charges from a landline phone, which was awesome because otherwise it was going to be an expensive call, and that was why I had sent a message instead in the first place.

Note to banks: How about the option for a data-based call using Skype or Whatsapp or even your own banking app?

From the phone call with the Falcon (fraud detection) team here’s what I think happened:

• I had a ride with Uber in Quebec City and charged it to my credit card.
• Because of something Uber did, or the way the driver had their bank account set up, the charge went through with a location in the Netherlands. (Uber does appear to have a large team in Amsterdam, including payment systems.)
• The bank/Visa’s algorithm picked up the aberrant location and flagged it.
• The bank/Visa tried to call me on my Australian mobile phone number. I’m not using my Australian number because for now I’m using a prepaid SIM from USA which I bought in September.
• Unable to resolve the possible fraud, they suspended my card and my transactions were declined.

When I called the bank to answer their questions they started from an assumption that they were right, and it was fraud. Even though the amounts roughly equalled what I had paid in Canadian dollars through Uber, down to the $1 tip which was charged separately, the lady said “but you’re not in the Netherlands. I will cancel your card. Where shall I send the replacement?”

She told me she could see that I had told them I was travelling overseas, but that I was due back in Australia on 1 August. “No”, I told her, “I put in the details for 11 countries and that we’re not due back until December.”

“So”, she said, “you have extended your travel.” This was not a question.

Life imitates Duolingo

What would I change about this?

The bank tried to call me, I think twice from the text message I later received that said I have two voicemail messages. And that was that, and I could only resolve the matter by calling them. The only way I could resolve this was through a phone call. The bank has an app, and a secure internet banking portal. Those services contain notifications and messages. I contacted the bank through their own “secure message” service online. So I would love the bank to attempt to contact me through other means — send me an alert on the app / web portal. At the very least to say a flag has been raised and I should get in contact. Instead I waited a few days to see if there was some pending transaction that put me over the limit.

I would also love for a way to resolve the issues in a way other than a phone call. I tried calling reverse charges (aka “collect call”) from a payphone in Canada but was told that I can’t call Australia collect from a payphone — I’d need a non-payphone landline phone. ANZ only accepts reversed-charge calls from landlines so I couldn’t call from my mobile. I had to borrow a phone from my Airbnb host to make the call. Other options: data call; live chat.

Google Translate is so very handy.

I’m grateful the algorithm picked up anomalous activity on my card. It would be great if the humans had a bit more leeway in interpreting what happened, i.e. whether to over-ride the red flag. We could have spent 30 seconds comparing my Uber receipt in CAD with what went onto the card, and probably saved everyone a bunch of effort. (Including my friends in Vancouver who will have to sign for my replacement card when it gets there.) I wasn’t going to argue it because I suspect that if anything went wrong down the track (related or not) the bank would put all responsibility on me.

“Sir, if you insist on setting yourself on fire we cannot get involved.”

I don’t know what happened with Uber and the driver to make the charge look like it took place in Amsterdam. I pay for Airbnb through PayPal and sometimes it looks like the money is going overseas, I assume because that’s where the PayPal account was set up. Maybe it was the same thing here. (I know Uber won’t let me add an overseas phone number to my account because it was set up with an Australian number. If I’d set it up linked to Facebook I could change my number, though. That’s a bit weird. It means drivers can’t contact me, which is the whole point of the phone number…)

My key insights from this are that a) I was right to get a backup credit card and b) the bank’s processes are designed to leave very little judgement in the hands of its humans. I guess it reflects the conservative culture of big banks, but it creates another risk. There is a big gap in terms of flexibility and service which will gladly be filled by innovators and disruptors.