Bent Over by Banco Progresso

KikoPresidente said:

Went to the ATM at Banco Progresso today next to the Super Super in El Batey, Sosua and attempted to withdrawl 20000 pesos. Machine rattled like it was counting out money and then stopped and said transaction canceled.

Went across the street to the other ATM to no avail. Upon arrival at my house, looked at my account on the internet showing that there was a withdrawl for amount. So I went back to the bank, went inside and the people there were absolutely useless, didn't even attempt to look at a computer or the ATM, nothing.

Made a quick call to my home bank in the states and filed a dispute, hope something will come of this.

Anyone else have a similar experience? I think now I should only go inside the bank and make a "cash advance" rather than trust the ATM.

Click to expand...

When the ATMs at Banco Popular broke, I went inside to have the transaction done by hand. I though I was going to just swipe the card and get cash but it was a drawn out process that took about 45 minutes. The cost was no more than a standard ATM withdrawl, in fact it might have been a little less. The AC in the bank was good, the tellers attractive and I had nothing else to do so it really was not that bad.

I hope your trip is going well otherwise.

KikoPresidente said:

Went to the ATM at Banco Progresso today next to the Super Super in El Batey, Sosua and attempted to withdrawl 20000 pesos. Machine rattled like it was counting out money and then stopped and said transaction canceled....

Click to expand...

20,000 pesos? I was unaware that any ATM would allow you to withdraw that much in one transaction.

I agree with Big I have only been allowed to withdraw 15,000 peso's at one time per day. I Have had my ATM kept by a machine on a sunday with 200 peso's to my name. Not fun......I had to wait till monday to retrive at the Main Branch in PP

My strong advice is to ALWAYS go inside the bank to withdraw funds. I personally prefer to bring in travelers checks, exchange them for dollars at my hotel and then just use cash and negotiate to avoid the scams you encounter in the DR. "Ghosting" of ATM card pin numbers is a BIG problem throughout the Caribbean, so just be careful when using credit cards and ATMs and try to limit your transactions to inside the bank, when possible.

HPJuan said:

I personally prefer to bring in travelers checks, exchange them for dollars at my hotel and then just use cash and negotiate to avoid the scams you encounter in the DR. "Ghosting" of ATM card pin numbers is a BIG problem throughout the Caribbean, so just be careful when using credit cards and ATMs and try to limit your transactions to inside the bank, when possible.

Click to expand...

What hotel gives you USD for your travelers cheques?
Most, if not all, will cash them for RD Pesos at a highly unfavorable rate.

KikoPresidente said:

...................
Anyone else have a similar experience? ...........

Click to expand...

Kiko,

I recently had the same issue. I attempted to get 20kRD from a Ban Reservas ATM (yes you can) in the Ole supermatket off of Charles Degaulle in Santo Domingo. The ATM made the usual sound it would as if it was about to give the cash, but I received a "treansaction cancelled". I waited for a few minutes for the next person to use the ATM to see if the meachine was broken. The machine was not broken.

I checked my online statement and it indeed showed that I made a withdrawl of 20kRD. I called my bank in US, filed a claim, was given a temporary credit of the disputed amount until an investigation was completed. My bank contacted Ban Reservas to make the claim on my behalf. Ban Reservas did not dispute the claim within the 90 days they are required to do so. My bank has closed the claim out in my favor.

Make the claim with your bank and wait the 90 days.

I also want to add, for some, dealing with Traveler's Checks and using a Walk-Up Teller for all transactions may be okay. For me and most people I know, it is something out of the Stone-Age. Just make sure you use a bank that has a good history of protecting it's depositors against fraud etc.

bigbird said:

20,000 pesos? I was unaware that any ATM would allow you to withdraw that much in one transaction.

Click to expand...

that machine will give up to 40k in one transaction (that is if it is working).

In the u.s. isn't the limit $300 u.s.d? So in the D.R. the limit is 40,000 pesos??

The daily limit is set by the bank, not the Country. :ermm: LHM.

The ATM machine you use may have a limit. Banco Popular has a 10kRD limit per withdrawl.

Ban Reservas, I don't know, but I have on occasion withdrew 20kRD.