Does anybody know if the physical Monzo card supports magnetic stipe data (MSD) on contactless? Some payment systems only accept MSD but not EMV on contactless.
I bet @Rika will know 
1 Like
The answer is yes but Mastercard is requiring us to remove Contactless Magstripe from new cards later this year (same with merchants, they are being required to move to EMV Contactless, which some have responded to by removing all contactless 
).
1 Like
Thanks @Rika
Do you know if this is a global change? i.e. is this a requirement of MasterCard in the US? I’d hope so given the liability shift 4 years ago, but I would also be afraid of loosing contactless payments in the US given the glacial pace of updating systems.
It’s a global change, though Contactless Magstripe is largely only used in the US and countries that follow the US for payments technology.
2 Likes
Has anyone successfully rented a car in the us using monzo and can anyone advise best way/ place to do so. I’ve booked a car using enterprise but it does state credit not debit cards but when I’ve used my monzo MasterCard here in the uk for certain things it shows up as a credit card.
Tia!
Hello I’ve moved your post to here, hope you don’t mind. If you search the thread you’ll find info on car rentals in the USA.
Thankyou new here haha!
2 Likes
Monzo should be fine as it us MasterCard.
Debit in the US refers to the interbank networks such as Pulse, Star, Interlink etc.
There is no such thing as Visa Debit.
Most debit cards do have Visa / MasterCard Logos so they can be used through the credit card networks. This allows people to use their cards at shops that do not have payment processors which take interbank transactions.
The fees charged to merchants for these transactions are the same as credit card transactions. This means the points are higher for card holders.
For end users the biggest change is no PIN needs to be entered and a signature is used instead. This is useful for situations without one such as restaurants, parking, or drive-thrus.
One can force these transactions though at most terminals in shops to get the extra points.
Do you know why the cards & mobile wallets do not work on contactless ATMs? Is it because they only work with cards of the same bank or is MSD being requested?
On a side note chat support indicated the magstripe ATM option enables MSD data contactless and mag stripe transactions. If so this seriously needs rewording.
Yes
A really easy, low-cost option I’ve found is to get a free SIM from Three. Their rates and bundles cover many countries, including the USA. You can add a £10 bundle of data/minutes/texts and that will sort you for a month. Even if you don’t use Three here in the UK, it’s a great travel SIM.
3 Likes
Thank you for confirming the notifications - that’s very helpful! 
Fortunately I have a picked up a three sim after all. Great timing.
1 Like
+1 on what jzw95 says about using the Three SIM. I’ve done this every time for visiting Vegas and it’s perfect. I pay the £20 top up as we both phone home and I use Google maps a lot (data) so well worth the money and it’s always worked very well. 
1 Like
Heading back to Chicago next week.
Last time I did in April, the automatic machines for topping up a Ventra (transit) card didn’t like my Monzo card. I assume because I put in a fake zipcode, though it worked with my Starling card.
Any advice?
When I spoke with Cubic in 2014 I was told that the turnstiles should take contactless like London. Though it is not often used due to the lack of contactless cards in the US.
It’s probsbly another issue caused by Monzo’s letter authorisation code that the system doesn’t like and is rarely used by other providers.
1 Like
Does Monzo still give a notification when arriving in the US? I have not received once in over a year.
I’m sure there are more recent posts about this on the forum but for some reason I can’t find them.
I’m going to New York soon and wondering if Apple Pay is accepted in most places yet?
Is it possible to withdraw cash from ATMs in New York using Apple Pay with Monzo? I know Apple Pay Cash withdrawals were being rolled out in the US but no idea if it’s common yet or not. Is it still difficult to find ATMs which don’t charge a fee for withdrawing?
Also I remember before that people had issues when paying by card/Apple Pay and adding a tip to the card receipt - when the money was collected it was done as a separate authorisation or something, meaning that you’d have 2 lots of money off your balance for the restaurant bill until the original authorisation expired and dropped off. Is this still a thing or is this better now?
Ideally I’d like to carry as little cash as possible, and use Apple Pay as much as possible.
Thanks for any advice 
If you mean NYC, Apple Pay is accepted in most places for payments. Apple Pay for cash withdrawals on the other hand, not so much (I’d even say not at all if you don’t have a US card). Additionally, you’re still going to have a bit of a hard time finding an ATM with free withdrawals. I posted a link a couple years ago to MasterCard’s ATM locator because they had an option to narrow it down by “no access fee” but it appears they’ve removed it (possibly under pressure?). Try to look for credit union ATMs (with “credit union”, “CU”, or “FCU” in their names), they generally charge less and are more likely to charge nothing at all than banks. If you want to be sure you have fee-free access to cash, Chase UK cards can be used at Chase US ATMs with no additional ATM access or foreign exchange fees.
If you mean upstate New York, it’s not as great in terms of Apple Pay acceptance. Having your physical card is a must. Same advice about ATMs, though.
1 Like
Thanks for all the info 
Yeah I mean NYC, so sounds like I’ll be able to use Apple Pay for payments most of the time which is good.
Do you know anything about the tipping side of things if adding a tip on the card payment as opposed to adding a cash tip? I think I remember reading on here the past some people had issues doing that cos it meant the authorisation went through at e.g. $20, but then a tip amount was written on the receipt e.g. $5, then when it comes to settling the transaction, a separate transaction would be settled for $25 and they’d have to wait a few days for the original $20 authorisation to drop off.
I’m not sure if it made any difference whether it was a physical card transaction vs Apple Pay.
2 Likes