My credit card keeps declining in Tanzania and I have enough money on there and all international transactions are activated - what do I do?
Happened with my Revolut card at two places in Arusha - both ATMs and a restaurant. I had to go through live chat support and they confirmed the card was being flagged due to “high-risk merchant category.” They reset it, and I was back up in 10 minutes. If your card is declining in Tanzania, don’t wait - contact support right away and ask them to authorize it for East Africa.
I couldn’t pay for a ferry ticket at the Dar port even though my card had funds. Eventually figured out that Tanzanian POS machines sometimes block certain foreign cards automatically. I called my bank, unblocked it, and from then on used ATMs for cash instead. So yeah - don’t assume your card will just work, even if it's set up. Always have a backup plan.
This happened to me in Zanzibar at a small hotel. I tried my Mastercard twice - it failed. Turned out the bank back home didn’t register my travel notice, even though international use was on. I used the banking app to chat with support, and they fixed it within minutes. If your card’s not working in Tanzania, it’s likely a security block - just contact your bank fast.
Same thing happened to me in Dar Es Salaam - had cash in the account, but my Visa card kept getting declined. Called my bank from a hotel Wi-Fi and they’d flagged the transaction for “fraud risk.” Once I verified it was me, it worked again. Lesson: call your card issuer right away and ask them to unblock Tanzania.