My card was taken by an ATM near my hotel in Côte d'Ivoire. Has this happened to anyone else? Solution?
I had my card taken by a Societe Generale ATM in Cocody, just outside a supermarket. It was late evening, and I think the machine had a timeout setting. I waited a few minutes but nothing happened. A local passerby advised me to take a photo of the ATM and note the time. The next morning I went to the branch with my passport and that info. They said they couldn’t return the card since it wasn’t from their bank, but they did confirm it was recovered. I blocked the card and used my Wise card at another ATM nearby with no issues after that. Always use attached ATMs during banking hours if you can.
Yes, this happened in Yopougon at a UBA ATM last month. My Revolut card was taken after the screen glitched during a withdrawal. The next day, I went to the UBA branch it was attached to and they were actually helpful, but still couldn’t release the card because I wasn’t a UBA account holder. They confirmed it would be destroyed for security reasons. Thankfully, I’d frozen it through the Revolut app and ordered a replacement to my next destination. From what I heard from other travellers, foreign cards stuck in ATMs rarely get returned here.
It happened to me in Grand-Bassam earlier this year. I used a BOA ATM near a gas station, and the machine just froze after I entered my PIN. No error message, nothing just silence and no card. I asked the hotel receptionist to call the bank’s local support number, and they said the machine would be emptied within 72 hours, but they couldn't guarantee return of the card unless I had an account with them. I had to cancel the card via my mobile banking app and relied on cash for the rest of the trip. Not fun, but at least I didn’t lose any money.
Yes, this happened to me at a BICICI ATM in Abidjan, right near my hotel in the Plateau area. My Visa card just got stuck during the transaction and the machine powered down. I went to the BICICI branch the next morning with my passport, and they said they could only return the card if it was a local bank card. Since mine was foreign, they advised me to contact my bank immediately and block it. I ended up using my backup Mastercard and withdrew cash at a nearby Ecobank ATM without issues. Always keep a second card when travelling here it's not uncommon.