Why do ATMs and shops in Bora Bora just keep declining my wise card. It worked fine in other countries
I had zero declines! I used my Wise card at Banque Socredo ATM in Vaitape around 10 AM, selected XPF, used chip+PIN, and declined any conversion. Withdrawals went through fine. I’d topped up my local XPF balance via the Wise app before arriving, which might’ve helped. My takeaway: prepare ahead-load some XPF in-app, hit a major bank ATM in town, and avoid conversion prompts.
Cool surprise-my Wise Mastercard actually worked on the 3rd try at the Bank of Tahiti ATM in Vaitape, but I had to decline the ATM’s DCC prompt and withdraw in XPF. Before that, every withdrawal attempt was declined. So here’s a tip: pick the local currency (XPF), decline dynamic conversion, and choose chip+PIN. Seemed to fix my issue instantly.
I was just in Bora Bora in late May. Wise card refused at Banque de Polynesie ATM, even though it worked fine in mainland France before. The teller told me foreign debit cards sometimes get blocked over ‘regional risk flags’ here. I switched to a backup Mastercard credit-zero issues. Still, I topped it off with cash via airport exchanger in Faa’a (got XPF 850 fee) and that was my fail-safe.
same thing happened to me in Vaitape-tried ATMs at Banque Socredo and Banque de Tahiti and my Wise Visa got declined every time. Wanted XPF but even picking local currency didn’t help. Shops and beachfront bars only took cash or big-name credit cards. Ended up using USD from a Tahiti airport ATM and got XPF before the Bora Bora flight-worked flawlessly.