ATM cash withdrawals don't work any more (UK)

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#1

Hi,

I’m a recent adopter of Curve and everything was cool until a little while ago, when my Curve card (set to use my cash card) stopped working in ATMs where I live, in the UK. It still works in shops. I got in touch with support, but after a mail from them suggesting it was a problem with my issuing bank, I haven’t heard anything more from them for a few days now.

My issuing bank said the Curve card was not blocked (which was the suggestion from Curve support) and the reason the withdrawal is not going through is because the transaction is being coded as ‘quasi-cash’ which the ATM does not recognise.

I have tried the card at different ATMs to check it is not an ATM-specific issue. The analysis from my bank seems to be correct as the ATMs always treat the card as a credit card (asking me for language, warning me about fees) which didn’t happen before, iirc.

I have previously used the Curve card to withdraw cash on many occasions (the last time was on 22 March 2020), so it seems to be Curve related and I’m puzzled by the slow customer support, which I’ve always found to be super-quick. I realise that these are challenging times, but since the initial response was very rapid, and I’ve had no reply to either of my mails following up, I am feeling a bit frustrated at the silent treatment.

Is it just me having this problem?

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#2

I will try a cash machine when I go out for my walk later. Haven’t used one in ages!

Curve do seem to have a bit of a problem with support though - they’re great at the initial response, but after that it can take absolutely ages to follow up after anything more!

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#3

Brief update - I’ve just now had a holding reply from support saying they’re looking into this. I’ll keep this updated as and when I hear more.

#4

Hi there,

I have had this problem with couple of different banks and both occasions it was a security measure from the actual banks as a random measure to ensure it was me accessing my account. Both times it got resolved by a rep in branch ringing the banks security department.

#5

offtopic - Todays transactions showing OK in Curve?
Made 1 purchase ~6 hours ago, transaction still did not showed up in. Purchase went ok, underlaying card has been charged.

#6

It’s not working. No transactions are shown in Curve app.

#7

Hello may I ask is this issue you are having following using an ATM withdrawal?

#8

I’m seeing that too, but it’s more complicated than the txns not appearing in Curve app.

See: Weird authorisations behaviour

#9

@Fintechguy : no. Just normal POS (contactless) purchase. I have not used atm with Curve for a while now.

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#10

I can confirm. No transactions on curve history visible today. Also my usual internet transaction has been declined twice today… No help from support

#11

Well, I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with my bank’s fraud & risk team (took a while to get through to the right people :roll_eyes:) and they assured me there was no issue with the authorisation or the security clearance - they told me it was happening at the ATM because of the transaction code (or tag) that was being created there as a function of the card which the ATM regards as anomalous or incorrect.

I hope I’ve explained that accurately - that was certainly my understanding of what they were saying!

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#12

Hi yes both banks I had same explanation given. Apparently the anomalous triggers it and the banks security team can refuse transaction until they have verified it is you.
Well that’s my experience. So far not happened since.

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#13

That is strange?

Just out of interest are you using a credit card to draw money out with via Curve?

#14

I know, right? :thinking:

No, it’s not a credit card, it’s a debit card for my current account. Once that I’ve used many times, in that same ATM and others to withdraw cash, before this happened.

#15

It has happened to me, with 2 failures at my own bank atm.

1 transaction is still shown as pending 4 days later although no money came out of the wall.

Not at all giving me confidence in the product.

#16

So, I’ve heard back from customer support and as promised I’m updating the thread:

As this is a quasi-cash transaction it seems like your issuer is declining these payments, as you mentioned this is not an ATM specific issue and we are approving these transactions.

As you have already contacted your issuer via telephone, In this situation, we would usually advise getting in contact with a representative in a local branch however as this is not possible at the moment the best alternative is to use a different payment card linked to your Curve account or use your card directly as we have no control over what your issuer accepts.

Not sure how I feel about this, tbh. I was trying to get away from carrying multiple cards. Now it seems like I need my cash card and a credit card (as a failsafe) so I’ve ended up with a third card to take around with me!

I don’t know what else to do. My bank (RBS) doesn’t have many branches where I live (not, erm, in Scotland!) so I don’t have a great deal of optimism to commit the time to travel to a branch and resolve this (plus, I was talking to a specialist from the retail fraud department, not a customer adviser in a branch). I may try calling again I suppose.

#17

I really feel like this sounds like Curve’s problem to solve here. You’ve done an awful lot of work to investigate on their behalf and it seems that it’s something in the way that Curve are coding the transaction that’s causing the problem.

It’s clearly something multiple people are experiencing, and withdrawing cash from a cash machine on a linked debit card should be one of the most simple of transactions.

@Curve_Marie has someone from Curve seen this thread?

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#18

Hi there, Zac here following up on the messages you’ve sent in regarding the declines you’ve been experiencing. I’ve looked into this and can confirm that as my colleagues previously stated, the issue stems from the underlying bank. To clarify, with every transaction you make including ATM withdrawals there is a code attached.

This code allows your bank to verify and identify which type of transaction you are trying to make. We use the codes that are in accordance with MasterCard. The message we’re receiving is that your underlying bank is marking Curve transactions as ‘quasi-cash’, and subsequently blocking us. This isn’t a pattern we’re noticing with other RBS customers, so to resolve this we recommend you ask your bank to investigate this further.

I’m sorry we’ve been unable to resolve this issue for you but if you have any other questions, I’ll be happy to answer them for you!

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#19

@Zac_Curve, what merchant category code (MCC) does Curve notify to the underlying card issuer for cash withdrawals? I previously understood that Curve used an MCC that caused these cash withdrawals to be seen by all underlying card issuers always as normal purchases, unlike for example paying off a credit card where Curve simply passed through the original MCC from the end-merchant.

#21

Hey Community :wave: just wanted to keep you all in the loop on what’s happening here now that we have a better understanding.

Because Curve is a unique product and offers features that other cards don’t, occasionally, banks get confused with how to process transactions through our multiple-cards-in-one.

We work directly with the banks and generally, issues are resolved quickly.

We’re sorry for any inconvenience this might cause you while we sort it out - we aim to have it fixed real soon and will let you know once we have an update.

Stay safe and feel free to drop us a message in-app or email us at support@curve.app if you have any questions in the meantime.

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