My card was taken by an ATM near my hotel in Martinique. Has this happened to anyone else? Solution?
If this happens, don’t wait around. Head straight to a Crédit Agricole or BNP branch in Fort-de-France, ideally during business hours. Smaller towns often don’t keep foreign cards. Carry at least one backup card and €100 in cash for ferries, buses, and food. Martinique uses the euro, so worst case you can top up with cash from an exchange office.
Not as lucky myself - my Revolut Mastercard got eaten by a BNP Paribas ATM in Sainte-Anne on a Saturday evening. By Monday when I checked, they said it had already been destroyed. I had to cancel and rely on my Monzo backup. Outside Fort-de-France, card retrieval isn’t reliable. Martinique is fairly card-friendly in shops, but markets and buses are still cash-only, so always carry euros in coins and notes.
I had my Wise card taken at a Crédit Agricole ATM near Fort-de-France by the ferry terminal. Walked into the branch the next morning, showed my ID, and got it back within half an hour. Staff were polite and spoke enough English. A travel buddy staying in Trois-Îlets had a similar smooth recovery from Banque Populaire. As long as you stick to ATMs at major branches, you’re usually fine in Martinique.
Most ATMs in Martinique are part of the French banking system - Crédit Agricole, Banque Populaire, and BNP Paribas. If your card gets swallowed, go directly to the branch with your passport. They usually retrieve foreign cards if reported within a day or two. Machines in Fort-de-France and Le Lamentin airports are serviced daily. Call the number on the machine straight away, and freeze your card in your banking app until you know if it’s coming back.