Lacked chip-and-PIN card

When traveling, I have always depended upon getting funds in the local currency by using my ATM card, a debit Visa card with a local credit union.

In Brugge, Belgium, in March ’10, I tried, unsuccessfully, to withdraw funds with my card. I tried several banks’ machines, but the machines would not even read the card; I got the message “Unable to access card information” and the card was returned to me.

I went into one of the banks and was told that they couldn’t help me because my card did not have a computer chip.

The only bank ATM that did accept my card was KBC Bank.

Friends we were with in Brugge tried to make a purchase in a small store. Not one of their four credit cards was accepted and they had to pay cash.

DIANE ROBBINS

Penfield, NY