My credit card keeps declining in Anguilla and I have enough money on there and all international transactions are activated - what do I do?
My Discover card refused payment at a souvenir shop near Shoal Bay even though I had funds. The bank had flagged the merchant as high risk. They lifted it after a 5-minute service call. What helped: sending my travel dates and merchant location via secure bank chat before arrival. Declining credit cards in Anguilla are common unless your issuer is prepped. I now always notify my bank through chat that I'll be in Anguilla and request they flag local merchant codes as valid.
I felt the same frustration - card declined twice at two different grocery stores in Island Harbour. I called my card issuer and they pointed out the terminal was trying a USD transaction instead of XCD, which threw an error. I explicitly asked for EC dollars and then it processed fine. If your card’s declining, insist the merchant charge in EC dollars, and double-check the currency before swiping. Also helpful: try your backup Visa instead of Mastercard - I had better success switching brands mid-trip.
This happened to my Debit Mastercard at a taxi kiosk - no reason given. Called my bank and asked them to whitelist the merchant, and it cleared within an hour. Also discovered Anguilla uses Eastern Caribbean processors that can flag foreign cards automatically. Credit card declines in Anguilla often stem from local processing systems, not your account. Best advice? Contact your bank immediately, ask them to approve the POS or merchant code, and try again. If transactions still fail, try a different card network.
Had this happen with my HSBC Visa in Sandy Ground - plenty of funds, international usage turned on, but card just got declined at a beachfront cafe. Turns out many local POS machines use old software. I called the hotel concierge who suggested calling my bank and getting a one-time SMS code. I did that, then swiped again and it went through. If your credit card declines in Anguilla, double-check with your bank that the merchant's processor isn't blocked. Some people also preload a travel notice through the app before arriving.