My card was taken by an ATM near my hotel in Tuvalu. Has this happened to anyone else? Solution?
That's a worst-case scenario. The card is gone forever. Don't waste your time trying to get it back. You must call your home bank right away to cancel the card. The ATMs in Tuvalu are a bit of a gamble, and for this exact reason, I always recommend bringing more than enough Australian dollars in cash for your whole trip. Your only option now is a cash wire transfer from a friend or family member.
This happened to a friend of mine. The card is gone forever. You won't get it back from the Tuvalu National Bank. The country is almost entirely a cash-based economy. My advice is to call your home bank and report it lost or stolen. Your best and only solution is to have a friend or family member send you money via a wire transfer service, or to see if the bank can give you a cash advance on another card with your passport.
This is a massive issue because there is only one ATM in all of Tuvalu, and it's known for being unreliable. Your card is gone for good. The most important thing is to call your home bank to cancel it immediately. You'll need to have a good supply of Australian dollars in cash for your entire trip. Your only solution now is to have someone wire you money via a service like Western Union, or to get cash from the Tuvalu National Bank branch with a passport and a photo ID.
Oh no, that's a huge problem. You won't get that card back. The first thing to do is to contact your home bank immediately and have the card cancelled. Tuvalu's banking infrastructure is very limited. There is only one ATM on the island, at the Tuvalu National Bank, and it is known to be unreliable. I cannot stress this enough: you have to bring enough Australian dollars in cash with you for your entire stay. The only solution for you is to have a family member or friend send you a wire transfer via a bank or a money transfer service.