Anyone else having problems using Debit Cards at POS?

travelr64 · 2016-12-13T02:11:12+01:00

I have nos problems using my U.S. issued debit cards at the ATMs. Of course all the ATMs I can find in this part of Brazil are owned by Banco do Brasil, and they charge R$24 for each withdrawal and have a limit of R$1,000 per transaction. When I try to use these cards at the store for POS purchases they do not work. I have contacted my banks, and they have forwarded the case to Mastercard . They asked me to record the date and time of the attempted transaction, including the name of the merchant, the address, and the decline message, and I have done that. Mastercard says they are not seeing any attempt to use the cards at POS. I suspect Banco do Brasil is somehow blocking the use of these cards so the only way I can buy anything in Brasil is by using their ATMs and charging the high transaction fees. Anyone else experiencing the same thing?

Last activity 08 May 2022 by Mikeflanagan

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bepmohtContributor07 May 2022 23:30:21

#121

147

We need a Banker in this forum 😜. I remember my then girlfriend in 2004 telling me to bring cash and VISA card to Brazil. She said Mastercards didn’t work well. That was many years ago. My Chase Sapphire and AMEX have always worked at POS. I’ve seen where mPOS is replacing most POS old school hardware/software. So, perhaps that may be a reason? Dunno, I’m no Banker! Good Luck.

InubiaSerial expat07 May 2022 23:40:47

#122

292

Debit cards dont work because the individual banks don't have the means to handle currency transfers .....but sometimes you can game the system by telling the merchant that it is a credit card ......

MikeflanaganSerial expat07 May 2022 23:58:53

#123

445

debit will work if its a supported visa debit card. however doing purchases you need to use credit vs debit.

MikeflanaganSerial expat08 May 2022 01:12:37

#124

445

basically if your credit card or visa debit card are part of the plus network you should have limited issues

Link for reference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plus_(interbank_network)#:~:text=Visa%20Plus%20is%20a%20worldwide,bearing%20the%20Visa%20%2F%20Electron%20logo.

EDIT

***May need to copy - pasta the link as a whole into your browser. sorry just the auto formatting from this website!***

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