My card was taken by an ATM near my hotel in Latvia. Has this happened to anyone else? Solution?
I had my German Mastercard taken by a SEB ATM in Daugavpils on a Friday evening. Since the branch was closed over the weekend, by the time I went back on Monday they had already destroyed the card. I had to cancel it and rely on my backup Monzo Visa. Latvia is mostly card-friendly, so I managed, but it was stressful. My tip: avoid withdrawing late or at weekends, and only use ATMs during bank opening hours to increase your chances of retrieval.
This happened to me in Riga when my Wise Visa was taken by a Swedbank ATM near the Old Town. I went into the branch the next morning with my passport, and the staff returned it within 30 minutes. They were polite, spoke English, and explained that the machine flagged my card as suspicious after multiple attempts. I was glad I didn’t have to cancel. If you’re in Riga or Jurmala, Swedbank and SEB are reliable for handling this problem quickly.
In Latvia, ATMs are mainly operated by Swedbank, SEB, and Citadele. If your card gets swallowed, go straight into the branch that owns the ATM with your passport. Swedbank and SEB usually keep the card inside until staff remove it, but they only return it during business hours. If it’s at a standalone ATM, call the number printed on the machine. If you can’t collect it quickly, most banks destroy foreign cards within a few days, so also block your card in your app as a precaution.
Yes, I lost mine at a Swedbank ATM in Riga Old Town. The screen froze during the transaction and the card never came out. In Latvia, banks often destroy retained cards for security reasons, so you should cancel it right away. Use a backup card at SEB or Citadele Bank ATMs, which are widely available in Riga and other cities. Most shops, restaurants, and even buses in Latvia take card payments, so once you switch to a spare card, you should be fine.