Thanks for replying! I wonder if Monzo could do anything to help in this process. Maybe refund the first pending payment as it wonāt be processed? Any thoughts @simonb? Obv not a Monzo issue but I know the CS is better than Revolut who were very 
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I think we are working on a way to solve this. I donāt know enough to say what that is or how it will work but I suspect itāll be something like allowing the user to mark the authorisation in the app for reversal, and putting it into a queue that we can go through regularly to batch reverse them and potentially automate some of it. Itās certainly a big pain point for both customers and COps in the current form, so it is something we would like to solve without the user having to reach out to COps and explain it in a conversation which is how we typically deal with it at the moment.
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Good to know! At least COps are willing to help out 
Hi,
Iām in San Francisco. Iāve put Ā£300 on my Monzo card and Iām on the Budget US website trying to order a car rental here and my Monzo card is repeatedly being declined. Any ideas?
Car Hire companies donāt like prepaid cards. They also reserve a fair bit of credit from your card so maybe Ā£300 isnāt enough.
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Current Account or Prepaid?
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Just topped up my Monzo current account last night, ready for our trip to New York in just over a weeks time. I now have the new upgraded card with my name on it now.
Been trying to follow the topic, but just a couple or 3 things to clarify about using the card abroad and charges from the new current accountā¦
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I should have little or no issues using the card to pay for stuff in NYC, including chip and pin and contactless (where available)?
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Purchases using the card are still free of charges, and I still receive the mastercard exchange rate on that day?
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ATM withdrawals are limited to Ā£200 (sterling) per month, then 3% on any over the initial Ā£200 each month?
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Has anyone had any issues or limitations using the new current account card in NYC?
Cheers for any replies / advice offered.
MJ
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Hi, did you use your card to get cashback from any of the supermarkets, because Iāve read that you apparently need to select the āDebitā option for the cashier to offer you cashback. If it doesnāt work then it would scupper my plans to get cash through cashback and avoid the ATM fees for the small amount of cash I would take out.
Iāve never, ever seen a supermarket in the US that offers cashback over the Mastercard network, Iām afraid. Iām not saying there are none, but I never saw one.
āDebitā attempts to use US common debit (regional debit network) routing, and will almost certainly fail with a non-US card (except possibly for an Interac card, if the merchant supports NYCE).
The best way to avoid fees is probably to use a USD ATM before you leave, but only if it lets you avoid DCC. There are some in train stations.
Close! You get the exchange rate on the day the transaction posts, which is standard practice in the banking industry.
Close! Itās per rolling 30 day period, so if you cross a month border, you donāt get it twice.
Some people have reported issues with the New York Subway, but in general you should have few issues. Make sure you always pay in USD if given an opportunity.
Be aware that many merchants (mostly food service, but even some large ones like Target manipulate their kernel to disable PIN for small transactions) in the US disable PIN support in their EMV kernels. Do not be surprised by this. Also be aware that tip adjustment is permitted, and the authorisation for this may take a week or more to fall off, so have plenty of extra on the account to cover tip adjustment and fuel authorisations.
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I didnāt get cash back, but the ATM fees arenāt applied to the first Ā£200 per month. Even after that Ā£200 itās only 3%.
Needless to say though, apart from a few notes for tips etc, everywhere accepted card.
I think itās likely @adil_i was referring to the ridiculous ATM owner fees in the US. Iāve heard rumours some Wells Fargo ATMs may be free, tho?
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Yep @GalaxyMergirl, the monzo limit wouldnāt have been an issue, just did not want to pay the high US imposed ATM fees. Might be worth looking into the Wells Fargo ATMs, will update if I find anything.
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Honestly, you wonāt need much cash in the US, if any. Maybe get a $20 bill from an ATM in London, just for in a pinch?
Sounds like the best plan of action. Thanks for your help 
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No problem, I used to live in the US, please do post back any problems! Personally, there are a few categories of failure I find especially interesting:
- Failures potentially related to the use of M/Chip Fast.
- Failures potentially related to the use of PayPass Magstripe mode.
- DCC offers (Iām interested in ANY DCC offers, forced or not, and I think theyāre very relevant to this thread - people need to know where to watch out for DCC!)
- Failures potentially related to CVM selection (e.g. shops banning transactions with PIN outright, or attempting to bypass it and getting a decline for doing so). Note that itās rare but a few shops do refuse to allow chip and PIN cards to be used, believing it will cost them extra. Attempting to bypass PIN (to save money or time) without asking you is common, and is likely to result in a decline. This is different from shops I mentioned above which have PIN disabled in the EMV kernel, this shouldnāt cause any issues - but if it does, it would fall under this.
- Failures potentially related to BIN-based routing, and magstripe failures.
Good luck! If you donāt know what any of that means, and you want to, do ask
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When I was in NYC in May 2017 (before I was with Monzo), Wells-Fargo ATMās generally charged me $5ā¦
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Yeah I think all the ones where I lived charged. But Iāve seen reports here some are free.
Just plenty of $1 notes, for tips. Housekeeping, drinks, luggage, saying hello, restaurants, etc.
Most restaurants and bars let you tip on the card. When I travel I almost never stay in a hotel, so I didnāt think of the hotel ones! I wonder if theyād let you tip on the card as well?
Saying hello? Iāve never said āhi hereās a small amount of money, nice to meet youā in my life! If someone did that Iād find itā¦ Bizarre.
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Yes, but from the reports on here it sounds like that has the effect of doubling your restaurant bill until the initial authorisation falls off. This could cause serious cash flow issues. I think I would just tip in cash to avoid that whole mess.
I know COps can reverse the initial auth, but contacting them every time I ate out would be too much hassle.
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