Why do ATMs and shops in Croatia just keep declining my wise card. It worked fine in other countries
Yeah Wise was super unreliable for me in Croatia. I had no issues in Italy or Slovenia, but once I crossed into Rijeka it started acting up. Couldn't withdraw at any Euronet ATM and it got declined at two different souvenir shops. I even tried splitting a bill with another traveler’s Visa and their card worked but mine didn't. I called Wise and they mentioned something about how some Croatian merchants use older terminal setups. From then on I used my Revolut card and it worked everywhere. I’d say keep Wise for online bookings or major chains and have a backup for everyday stuff.
Why do ATMs and shops in Croatia just keep declining my wise card. It worked fine in other countries
Interesting thing is, my Wise card actually worked pretty well throughout my trip. I was in Zadar, Trogir, and down to Makarska. At first it got declined at a PBZ ATM, but then I tried an Erste Bank one and it worked like a charm. I also used it in restaurants and to pay for bus tickets via app. I had activated contactless and also made sure the card had some recent in-person use before entering Croatia, which I think helped. I also kept the Wise app open during transactions in case they asked for confirmation. So maybe it’s just luck or how the terminals are set up.
My Wise card got rejected five times in Dubrovnik in the same day. Couldn’t take out cash at OTP Bank, couldn’t pay at a café, and even a gas station said it didn’t recognize the card type. The weird part is the card had plenty of funds and international payments were enabled. When I called Wise they blamed local bank filters. I ended up using my HSBC Visa for most things instead. Honestly I wouldn’t rely solely on Wise in Croatia. Good to have it, but always carry a second card from a different provider.
I had the same issue in Zagreb and Split with my Wise card. It worked fine in Germany and Austria, but in Croatia I kept getting declined at Konzum and a couple of ATMs. No error, just a flat rejection. I contacted Wise support and they said some Croatian payment terminals don’t play well with their network, especially when it comes to offline transactions. After that I made sure to use the card where contactless was available or switch to Google Pay and strangely, it started working again in most places. Still carried a backup Mastercard from my local bank just in case.
Not sure but Zagreba_ka Bank ATM was clean and accepted my UK wise card without issues.
Not sure. But I used it and Agram Banka charged no fee with my Wise card. Hassle-free withdrawal.