Debit Card Application and activation

Q1: How long do I have to wait for my new debit card?

A: Normally it will approximately 2 weeks for you to receive your debit card after successfully opening account. If after 4 weeks you still have not heard from us, please contact your account holding branch during business hours.

Q2: I have received my new Great Wall International Debit Card. Why am I not able to use it straight away?

A: You will not be able to use your new card before it is activated. Once activated, you can use your debit card for internet or telephone purchases and payments (please note that this does not require PIN number). We will post the PIN slip to your registered correspondence address after activation, and you can use your card and PIN number for POS purchasing or ATM withdrawal. Note: To activate your card, you can either call our Customer Services on +44 2072828763, or via mobile/online banking, or visit one of our UK branches, or sign and return the card activation slip Bank of China (UK) Limited included with your card to the following address: Freepost RSRL-EZBR, Bank of China (UK) Limited Card Centre, 1 Lothbury, London EC2R 7DB.

Q3: Do I need to activate my replacement/renewal card?

A: For manually requested replacement (i.e. lost/stolen or renewal card not received), you will need to follow the normal activation process just like a new card, for this type of replacement card we will not normally issue a new PIN. For renewal card (automated issuance due to your current card is about to expired), this type of card will not require manual activation. To activate renewal card, you will need to successfully complete a card and PIN transaction (online payment not permitted). If you require a new PIN, please follow the guidance in Q4 below.

Great Wall International Debit Card Usage

Q4: I have received a letter with a PIN slip enclosed, what should I do?

A: You can use the PIN straight away. However, if you prefer a PIN number of your choice, you should visit any Bank of China (UK) Limited branches or any ATM machines in the UK with Visa logo and select the option “change PIN” from the menu. Note: the ATM will ask for the current PIN before it can be changed, which is the 4-digit number on the enclosed PIN slip. UK ATM only accepts 4 digits PIN, please do not alter the length of your PIN, as it might affect or disable your debit card functionality.

The new PIN should not be a sequence of digits that can be easily guessed, such as your date of birth or a set sequence of digits e.g. 1234 or 4321 or 8888.

Q5: If I have incorrectly entered my PIN three times and ‘locked’ my card. How can I unlock it and be able to use it again?

A: If your PIN is entered incorrectly three times in a row at a retail sales terminal, the card will be ‘locked’ and your card will be disable and you will not be able to make any further chip & PIN transactions until the card is ‘unlocked’. In order to unlock your Great Wall International debit card, you can place your locked card into any UK ATM with Visa logo and select “Unlock PIN” from the menu. Alternatively, you can visit any Bank of China (UK) Limited branch to unlock the PIN. Once you have successfully unlocked your card, you will then be free to continue using your debit card as normal. If the issue continues, please contact the Bank.

Q6: I have forgotten my PIN. What should I do?

A: The quickest way to resolve this matter is to visit your local Bank of China (UK) Limited branch to reset your PIN. When visiting your local branch, a valid proof of ID must be provided in order to verify your identity. Alternatively, please contact our Customer Services on +44 2072828763 and we will send a new PIN to you as soon as possible. Please note, we can only dispatch new PIN to your correspondence address that we have on our systems. To enable the new PIN you must activate your new PIN by resetting your PIN at any UK ATM with Visa logo before use.

Q7: I am making a payment over the telephone/internet and have been asked for the “CVV number”. What is this and where can I find it?

A: ‘CVV’ stands for “Card Verification Value” and is used when making a transaction either over the telephone or on the internet as an extra level of security. On the back of the debit card, the ‘CVV’ number is the last 3 digits on the right hand side of the signature panel. Please be aware it is not necessary to provide your 4 digits PIN to complete transaction over the telephone or on the internet. Please do not disclose your debit card PIN to anyone (this includes merchants, bank staff and even police, etc).

Q8: Why can I not use my debit card to make a ‘Chip & PIN’ payment/why can I not use my card to make a payment on the telephone/internet?

A: There may be many situations where you cannot complete a transaction with your debit card, including:

• Your card has not been activated. See Q2 above.
• Insufficient funds available in your account to ensure a successful transaction.
• The amount exceeded the total daily allowance.
• Your account has been ‘frozen’.
• The PIN was entered incorrectly (the sales terminal should indicate whether the PIN was entered incorrectly).
• An incorrect/incomplete address has been quoted when completing a mail order or an internet transaction. Sometimes online merchant retains your correspondence address record to complete an online transaction. If you have changed address since your last transaction, please notify the merchants to amend their records, otherwise it might prevent you from completing the transaction successfully.
• Incorrect card details have been quoted, such as the 16-digit card number, the expiry date or the CVV code.
• Merchant system or card reader error.
• Merchant or bank system is busy or network problem.
• You did not input the verification code sent to your mobile number.

Q9: Why can’t I see debit card transactions detail via online/mobile banking services?

A: In order to access the full debit card transaction detail via Online/Mobile banking, you are required to link your debit card with your current account. Under “Accounts Management” select “Add Account” ? select the debit card number and click “Confirm linking”.

Q10: I can withdraw cash at ATMs but cannot complete transactions at retail outlets. Why?

A: This means that your PIN has been locked due to excessive incorrect PIN entries. You will still be able to withdraw funds from an ATM. But until your card is ‘unlocked’, you will not be able to make any payment using Chip & PIN verification at retail stores. See above Q4 on how to ‘unlock’ your card.

Q11: Will I be charged if I read “Your bank may charge you for this transaction, would you like to proceed?” at an ATM in the UK?

A: Our bank will not charge customers for cash withdrawals at ATMs in the UK, if you do not see the amount of fees being charged for the transaction, please select “Yes” to continue with the services. Some UK ATM providers do charge fees on cash withdrawal services, the amount will be shown upfront and require customer’s confirmation to proceed. This fee is collected by the ATM services provider and the Bank will not be responsible for the amount charged.

Q12: What is my daily cash withdrawal limit?

A: In general, it is ￡200 per day. However, the daily cash limit can be increase to ￡500 upon request or amend via online/mobile banking services. The amount is shared among joint account cardholders.

Q13: What is my daily transaction limit?

A: The daily limit you can spend with your debit card is a maximum of ￡5,000, provided there is enough available balance on your account. If you require making a single/number of high value transaction(s) within one day, please contact our Customer Services on +44 2072828763 during office hours, minimum 24 hours’ notice required, alternative you can amend the daily transaction limit via online/mobile banking services (with immediate effect).

Q14: Can I use my debit card overseas?

A: Yes, your Great Wall International Debit Card is accepted worldwide wherever a Visa logo is displayed. However, all overseas transactions (including cash withdrawals) will be subject to charges, please refer to Bank of China (UK) Limited - Tariff of Banking Charges for details.

Please note: Although our card is accepted worldwide, we do recommend customers to inform Card Centre via Customer Services hotline on +442072828763 or email cardcentre.uk@bank-of-china.com prior to travel in order to avoid disruption of services.

Q15: Can you debit my foreign currency account when I use my debit card overseas?

A: No. Your debit card can only link with your pound sterling current account. When you use your debit card overseas, transactions will be converted to pound sterling plus charges settled against your linked account. We apply Visa exchange rates prevailing on the day we process your Visa Debit transactions in the UK – not the rate prevailing on the day you used the card. Please visit the following website to look up the exchange rate used for the transaction in query: https://www.visa.co.uk/support/consumer/travel-support/exchange-rate-calculator.

Q16: Why can’t I use my card at an overseas ATM?

A: There may be many reasons for an overseas ATM to refuse your transaction, including:

• The ATM does not accept Visa Debit Cards.
• There are insufficient funds in your account to carry out the requested transaction.
• The withdrawal amount exceeds the daily cash limit in equivalent to GBP200 (or GBP500 if increased).
• Incorrect PIN or PIN locked.
• The account has been ‘frozen’.
• Incorrect selection of account type; if you have been given the choice of account type for the debit card, please select ‘Default’ if it is not available please select ‘Cheque.’

Q17: Why can I sometimes not able to use my Great Wall International Debit Card overseas?

A: As explained in Q7 and Q15 above, there may be many reasons. Your card may be suspended due to unusual overseas activities; we strongly recommend customers to notify the bank of any intending travel overseas to prevent unnecessary disruption of card services.

Q18: When will debit card transactions be debited from my account?

A: The amount will be deducted from the available balance on your account. The transaction will be debited from your account within 2-10 days after completion of the transaction.

Q19: Does my debit card cause my current account to be overdrawn?

A: In general, we do not allow transaction(s) to go through if there is insufficient available balance in your GBP current account, but some exceptions do apply. Please ensure there is enough available balance in your GBP current account before you use your debit card.

Q20: Why is the available balance less than the account actual balance?

A: When you use your debit card, the amount you used will be removed from available balance immediately hence you will notice there is a difference between available balance and account balance. Please be aware that the pending amount is the total amount of your recent debit card transactions.

Q21: What should I do if my debit card is about to expiry?

A: You do not need to do anything. Normally you will receive your new debit card prior to your current debit card expiry date. If you do not receive your new debit card one week before the expiry date, please contact your account opening branch or Card Centre as soon as possible.

Q22: Will my debit card be cancelled if I did not use it for a long time?

A: It is possible that your debit card will not be renewed due to prolonged inactivity. Please be aware that if your account is inactive continuously for 12 months or more, your account will be automatically suspended and it will affect your ability to use your debit card. You will need to contact your account opening branch to release the account before you can continue to use your debit card.

Q23: Why can’t I link up my card with Apple/Android Pay?

A: Currently the Great Wall International Debit Card does not support Apple/Android Pay platforms. You may conduct transactions via the Contactless function.

Q24: Why can’t I use Contactless to make payment?

A: After you activated your new/replacement/renewal debit card, the first transaction will need to be a chip & pins transaction to activate the Contactless feature. Occasionally, you will be prompted to insert card to complete a payment, this is a security feature to ensure you are still in the procession of your card to prevent fraudulent usage.

Q25: Can I use my card in London underground or other Transport for London (TFL) services?

A: You card is acceptable on for Transport for London services as long as they accept via Contactless function, you must activate your Contactless feature prior to travel. In order to activate Contactless function, you must complete at least one chip and PIN transaction.

Q26: Why can I not make store payments via magnetic stripe?

A: In UK all face-to-face payment require chip and pin to complete, hence the point-of-sale (POS) terminal will always prompt you to insert card and PIN number. From April 2023, the bank will no longer accept magnetic strip with signature to authorise and verify the transaction in Angola and Austria. You will be required to enter your PIN to verify these transactions. Please note that exceptions may apply, such as damaged card or forgotten PIN during your travel at either of these countries, please contact our customer services hotline for assistance +44 20 72828763 (Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm - except UK public holidays). Online payments will not be affected; you can continue to complete online transactions within Angola and Austria as normal.

Security

Q27: What should I do if my card is lost/stolen or retained by ATM?

A: You should report to us immediately for card(s) no longer in your procession. Our Customer Services hotline on +44 2072828763 is available 24/7 and it is being managed by our Call Centre based in China. Please follow the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) menu and tell the operator your debit card was issued by Bank of China (UK) Limited.

Please note: Our lines are being managed 24/7, however you may experience delays due to high call volumes, please be patient and your calls will be answered. If your card is stolen, we highly recommend you to report to the police in the first instance and keep the reference.

Q28: What should I do if I find transactions on my bank statement that I do not recognise?

A: It is imperative that you review your statements as soon as you have received them and also review transactions on a regular basis. In the event that unrecognised/unauthorised transactions have been identified, please contact our Customer Services hotline on +44 2072828763 as soon as you can. If the unauthorised transaction is from a retailer which you have had previous dealings with, we kindly ask you to contact the retailer prior to contacting the bank. If you think your card information is compromised, please contact us to cancel the card as soon as possible.

Please note: Do not disclose or provide your debit card or debit card information and/or your PIN to anyone else, as it may compromise the security of your card and lead to fraudulent activities or disputed transactions.

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