# Visa debit cards failing repeatedly



## DerKaiser (8 Jul 2013)

Just wondering if anyone else has suffered repeated failure of their visa debit card? I've had three fail in just under a year. The girl on banking 365 today said that the number of failures has been high since the switch from laser.

This lack of reliability is very annoying. My card never failed once in 17 years up to last year. Almost feels like a basic human right at this stage. I've now been let down with three full bags of shopping at a supermarket, in a restaurant and when going to the ATM for the taxi fare home at the end of a night out. Was lucky to have alternatives in all situations.

Any tips on why this might be happening to me so often?


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## Silvergirl (8 Jul 2013)

Hi only thing I can think of is are you keeping your card near your phone?
Some cards with magnetic strips get damaged by phones, happened me with my swipe card for work and also our room key on hols recently. The guy at reception told me it was because I'd kept it in the phone cover. Gave me a new one and it worked fine when I kept it in wallet. Just a thought, might or might not help.


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## DerKaiser (8 Jul 2013)

Thanks silvergirl. 

I keep it in my wallet away from my phone, but it's the chip that's failing rather than the magnetic strip as far as I know (I've been able to swipe and sign when it's let me down).

We got proximity cards at work last year and I also got a leap card. I was sure that was the reason, but I kept the most recent card separate and it still failed within one month!

I think it's due to physical damage to the chip, but can't figure why it keeps happening to me. Maybe a dodgy local ATM? Might be getting scraped in my wallet?

If I ever get to the bottom of it I'll post back.


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## markpb (9 Jul 2013)

I'd be very surprised if the girl in BoI was right about the high failure rate, I wonder was she just trying to placate you?

Smart card manufacturing has been around for over thirty years and failure rates are very low. In my last job, we received a single digit number of failed cards back even though we issued tens of thousands. A significant number of those issued cards sat in the back pocket of Russian truck drivers so I can't imagine they were treated with much TLC 

There are only a small number of companies worldwide who make them so it's likely that the same company made the chip for BoI Laser as BoI Visa Debit. It could even be the same chip, Visa Debit just a piece of software that runs on it.

Your suggestion about a dodgy ATM seems like a possibility though.


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## DerKaiser (9 Jul 2013)

Thanks Mark. I wasn't annoyed on the phone, just asked if it was common. I do think it must be something specific to me though.

My latest theory is that the chip is scraping against a zipper in my wallet. I'll keep the new card in a different compartment.


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## Bar101 (10 Jul 2013)

*Same problem...*

I have also got the same problem with the new ATM cards. 3 failures in last 15 months - the most recent replacement failed within weeks. I have 2 credit cards in the same wallet but no problems with them. In all cases it is the chip not the mag stripe. No obvious physical damage / scratches to the chip. BOI want to charge me €8 per replacement card! Any ideas?


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## NHG (10 Jul 2013)

My Dad has an AIB visa debit card & he usually uses it in a boi ATM, one sat I was with him & on the third attempt he got money out, I did'nt help on the first, but did help on the second & third attempt.  He told me that a few times he couldn't get money out. I spoke to a girl in AIB who told me to try a different ATM, he has & it works fine


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## tml (10 Jul 2013)

I have had 2 AIB visa debit cards fail on me in the past 6 months. Very annoying, 1st time it kept telling me I was putting in an incorrect PIN number (I was definitely putting in the right one - serious argument with AIB who kept telling me I was wrong and that they would resend my PIN number to me instead of cancelling and reissuing the card - eventually spoke to a manager who cancelled my card)

2nd time the chip failed, worked when swiped and signed. No issues this time getting it replaced.

Cashier in Dunnes told me a lot of people having problems with them.


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## DerKaiser (10 Jul 2013)

Bar101 said:


> I have also got the same problem with the new ATM cards. 3 failures in last 15 months - the most recent replacement failed within weeks. I have 2 credit cards in the same wallet but no problems with them. In all cases it is the chip not the mag stripe. No obvious physical damage / scratches to the chip. BOI want to charge me €8 per replacement card! Any ideas?


Sounds similar to my situation. I've been getting the cards replaced by calling banking 365. If it happens again I'll drop into my branch and see what can be done. The person on the phone has waived the charge on the last two occasions.


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## roker (10 Jul 2013)

Not good if you are abroad on holidays. My daughter entered cash in to a ATM machine today and it counted it wrong, €50 less than she put in, fortunately this machine was inside the bank and the manager was near by. Usually they think you are trying to pull a fast one, and the technology is infallible.


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## Niall Kerry (14 Jan 2015)

My AIB Visa Debit card also just died last week. Well it was failing in certain shops in some terminals first for 2 weeks or so, but working on ATM;s. Then it would not work in ATM's. It is the Chip that is going faulty. You can swipe and sign and also check your balance in the ATM but cannot withdraw money. The physical quality of the card leaves a LOT to be desired. The Dunnes or Tesco club cards are better quality. They are in NO WAY of equal quality to that of the Laser card,  the Old Banklink card, the AIB VISA Credit Card, or that of the O2 Money card. Are AIB charging €8 for replacement cards if they go faulty. I hope not. I keep mine in a wallet also along with an O2 Money Visa debit card,  a Master Card Debit card and an AIB Visa Credit Card all with Chip and PIN. They have never gone faulty. The AIB VISA Debit card just feels flimsy and the plastic coating also peals off after regular use in an ATM.


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## PatMacG (14 Jan 2015)

I've had an AIB Visa Debit card for a few years now and have never had it fail. It gets used in a terminal about once a week and while the shiny skin is peeling off I've never had a problem with it. It works flawlessly online with the additional security features enabled (additional password & pin).


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