I heard somewhere that many ATMs in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur specifically) do not accept ATM cards issued by U.S. banks (supposedly due to frequent fraud). Is this correct?
If this is the case, what are the ways around the problem. Is there a specific bank which does accept these cards, or a way to withdraw cash at a branch? I'm reluctant to carry too much cash.
Not sure where you heard that information. I was in Malaysia about two years ago, any significant Malaysian bank will accept your ATM card. And I had no problems while in Kuantan OR Kuala Lumpur. Now, there are banks non-Muslims are not permitted in, but there was only one of those I saw while in Kuala Lumpur.
A bigger issue, at least when I was there and perhaps where your rumor stems from, apparently it's fairly common for people to put a device on the card reader of a legitimate ATM. So, when you stick your card in, it gets your information and can cause transactions to not complete. I was told to do a visual inspection before using any ATM and to physically see if there was anything loose on the card slot. The device is allegedly very discreet.
Personally, I would try to go to actual banks and use their ATMs as much as possible. Still check the slot of course.
So, unless something has changed significantly, your ATM card should be fine.
I think you misheard the news.
In January 2012, several ATM withdrawals happened in Malaysia without the owners' consent. The Account owners are Singapore residents that had made ATM withdrawals in Bugis (a place in Singapore). You can read the news on the "asiaone" Singaporean news site.
Several weeks later, most Singapore Banks (UOB and DBS) changed the customer withdrawal policy. They do not allow withdrawal from outside Singapore (not only Malaysia), unless the customer has made a special request to do so.
I have never heard of any American bank take the same action (reject withdrawal from Malaysia). However, it would be better to check with your bank on your bank withdrawal policy.
Many banks have systems which detect "irregular" use of cards and put them on some sort of blocking lists when this is triggered.
I had heard of this happening to many people from many countries in many other countries but it had never happened to me. Until a few months ago in Malaysia.
The only hint I had was that the error message from the ATM was not a usual one about insufficient funds or wrong PIN, but it was very far from clear what the actual problems was. I contacted my bank at home through my banking app and they verified that's what it was and had it fixed in less than a day.
Most banks suggest that you inform them before you travel which countries you intend to visit and your arrival and departure dates in each country. I had never needed to do this but had done it one or twice. And finally I triggered it.
This is probably what happened that you heard about but the ATM error message was useless and the explanation offered to the person it happened to was probably equally useless. Sometimes we have to take educated guesses about what these systems might be doing.
This is Malaysia, all manner of bizarre policy exists.
But ATMs usually use payment networks (like cirrus, plus, etc.). Most global ATM machines should have a whole bunch of stickers on them listing the different payment networks it is setup to use. If yours is listed, it should work. There are some ATMs that service Malay savings, hajj contributions, etc. which may only allow their customers' use of their ATM and not be connected to other networks (ex. Tabung Haji, BSN).
I'm also not aware of any bank a non-muslim is not allowed in.
Additionally, there are a large amount of foreign banks that operate locally (Bank of America, Scotia Bank, HSBC) which have branches, ATMs and card services.
Is there fraud at ATMs? Yes, but look for odd devices attached to the card reader area (usually transparent shrouds, lit with LED lighting, are added by the bank to prevent the possibility of malicious card readers from being added), be wary of any POS payment terminal that is firmly attached (it is likely firmly attached to accommodate a camera or individual watching for your pin) and keep your pin hidden (most ATMs also have a plastic shroud to prevent people from seeing your pin). The local perception is that you are much more likely to have your wallet or purse stolen by "snatch thieves" (attacks from a team of two on a motorbike / kapchai / scooter).
Maybe phone your bank to see if they allow withdrawals. Beyond that it is unlikely (although not impossible) that all banks are preventing ATM withdrawals. Stick to major bank ATMs (Maybank, Heong Leong, Public Bank, Bank Rakyat, that bank whose mascot is an octopus, etc.) not third party ATMs and avoid Tabung Haji and BSN machines (they are kinda not banks). Otherwise head to the Bank of America branch in downtown KL.
