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VIENNA, February 3Austrian ATMs have stopped issuing funds from Gazprombank UnionPay cards, a correspondent found out, this fact was also confirmed to the agency by the Russian bank, specifying that the problem was caused by the Austrian side, but Gazprombank itself has no failure.
Austrian ATMs of banks such as Erste Bank, Bank Austria, Raiffeisenbank previously freely issued funds from Gazprombank UnionPay cards. However, problems began in December last year, when for several days it was not possible for owners of Gazprombank UnionPay cards to withdraw funds from these cards.
Later, some ATMs started dispensing funds again for a short period but then stopped again and cash withdrawals remain impossible to date. When you try to make a withdrawal, a message appears on the ATM screen: “Cash withdrawal is not possible at this time.”
On the Erste Bank hotline, the operator recommended contacting the bank that issued the card with this problem.
The press service of Erste Group Bank AG advised the correspondent to also contact a company that processes transactions on foreign cards. «We forward all withdrawals from cards issued by non-Austrian financial institutions to PaymentServicesAustria (PSA). In accordance with international regulations, PSA in turn forwards them to the card issuing institution. Therefore, I would like to refer you to PSA at connection with your question,” noted Erste Group Bank AG.
The PSA press service was also unable to help resolve the problem. “We have studied the situation in detail. However, the issue described is not within our scope of responsibility, so, unfortunately, we cannot provide any additional information. We apologize for any inconvenience,” the company said.
The Gazprombank contact center confirmed the problem with withdrawing cash from ATMs and noted that “Austria refuses” to even answer a request about what error occurs and why funds are not issued. “Unilaterally. That is, we don’t even receive a code, a type of authorization, for some reason this or that ATM does not dispense funds. Austria simply blocks everything itself,” said the contact center employee. “By the way, this happens in some cities in Italy,” the agency’s interlocutor added. The contact center also clarified that the bank itself “has no problems whatsoever.”
«The decision to refuse to carry out a transaction using Union Pay cards issued by a bank can be made on the side of the merchant or acquiring bank servicing a specific payment terminal. The reasons for this are not related to the technical performance of the cards. Gazprombank continues to fully fulfill its obligations to service all Union Pay cards issued by the bank,” the press service of Gazprombank also stated.
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