Our compatriots who go for seasonal work abroad or have been there for a long time as migrant workers, say that they were surprised when they realized that in Macedonia they cannot use the payment cards issued to them by the countries where they work. In our editorial office, we even received several calls these days. The banks say that there are international payment cards that are usually accepted all over the world and that our banks are also in that system. Visa and Mastercard transactions are carried out without any problems.

Our fellow citizen says that he was unpleasantly surprised when the ATM of Komercijalna banka "snapped" his card issued by an Italian bank.

"I came to Macedonia, and meanwhile the Italian boss transferred my salary. I went to the ATM here to withdraw it, but instead of money, the ATM withdrew my card. When I went to the counter, the bank told me that they could not return it to me and that I needed to write a letter to the Italian bank, and it should send a letter to the Macedonian one informing me that the card can be returned to me. While I was in the bank, a woman approached me and told me that her son had the same problem with a card from Italy and that he had to travel abroad to get his money because he couldn't collect his salary here," says our interlocutor.

Komercijalna banka says that on its network of ATMs and POS-terminals it is possible to withdraw cash, i.e. pay with all MasterCard and Visa brand cards, without any restrictions regarding transactions that are enabled through the networks of these two institutions.

"Generally, in accordance with the procedures for carrying out card transactions, a request for authorization of a transaction is forwarded to the card issuing bank and it approves or rejects the request. Hence, each customer can get the most accurate information related to a declined transaction in their bank, the one that is the issuer of the card used. The bank on whose devices the transaction is performed does not have data on the balance of the account, the status of the card or, on the other hand, on adequate identification of the user", the bank says.

From there, they add that in relation to the procedure for returning foreign cards held at Komercijalna Bank ATMs, the retention of the card is usually based on a response from the Bank that issued the card, so it is necessary to confirm whether the card may be returned to the client.

"This is a procedure that should be applied by every bank on whose devices cards issued by other banks are kept," explained Komercijalna banka.

At a time when seasonal workers are returning en masse from work abroad, according to the advice of bankers, it is best to inform them about whether they can withdraw money in our banks, or make payments. Our migrant workers came to know that some cards from Germany pass only in the European Union, and that some American cards, on the other hand, are accepted here by one bank, but not by other banks.