Using your bank account overseas
One cause for accounts being frozen is when consumers use their cards overseas without telling their financial institution they are travelling. This is arguably one of the most frustrating situations, as you are left without access to your finances in a different country.
You can, and should, still contact your bank immediately so it can resolve the issue and unfreeze your account.
Overseas money tips
Consider a travel money card. Loading up a travel money card with foreign currency before you go allows you to take advantage of the best exchange rate and avoid unnecessary fees. It also means if something does happen to your bank account, you can still access these funds.
Get travel insurance. Comprehensive travel insurance can provide protection against lost or stolen credit cards and the theft of cash, including cover for credit card fraud.
Use cash and cards. Make sure to take a combination of cash and cards with you so you can pay for all your purchases.
Lock it or block it. If you're worried about falling victim to thieves or fraudsters while overseas, you can contact your bank before you go to lock or block your credit card, or perhaps lower your transaction limit.
please am in eygpt country and i have been trying to make a transaction since yesterday is not going through and i think my account as been lock and i want to unlock it
Hello, this is a review and comparison site, so you’ll need to contact your bank directly to get help with your issue. Best of luck, we hope it gets sorted quickly for you!
Commonwealth Bank in Australia locked me out of my online banking because I was buying Bitcoin via an exchange. Their scams department interrogated me asking questions including: Why are you buying Bitcoin? What to do hope to achieve from buying Bitcoin? Who advised you? Why are you using this exchange? How many Bitcoin do you own? Provide us with your wallet address so we can verify the details?. Then they locked me out when I didn’t provide them with my wallet address. After being locked out, I sent them this. They confirmed that they had received it and never unlocked my accounts. I had to go to a branch to close my accounts and transfer money to another branch. My question is, is this legal? If I didn’t have a bank account with another branch I would have been screwed. Caused me a great deal of stress and loss of potential Bitcoin gains. I would like to take them to court.
Hi Andrew, I’m sorry to hear about your experience. I’d suggest you seek some personal financial or legal advice about this matter, as we’re only able to offer general advice on products and services.
dear sir/madam my netban is locked kan you pleasa unlocked as i,m tempoarli overseas and i needed account thank you
Hi Vlado,
We are a comparison site, we’re not directly affiliated with any bank or lender.
You’ll need to contact your bank directly to regain access to your account.
My commbank was locked because the bank noticed some suspicious activities, after some hours my brother send money to the account without notifying me, please can the money be reversed to my brother?
Hi Ian,
You’ll need to contact CommBank directly to resolve this – you can reach them on 13 2221.
Hope this helps!
My bank account with Pen Financial has been blocked off in Dunnville Ontario because l tried login 3 times . Very important that l pay my rent tomorrow the latest . Can’t use any other accounts, or credit cards all maxed . I only pay by e transfer bank charged to much for new cheques. How do l unblocked my account and put in new PCA thank you.
Hi Marcelle,
You’ll need to contact your bank directly. On their website they suggest:
To reset your Online Banking you need to visit a branch or call our Contact Centre at 1-866-866-6641.
Hope this helps.