Quote Originally Posted by Ayjay View Post
trouble with NATWEST debit cards and ATM's in the Phils. One of the problems is that MAESTRO is an unregognised brand in the Phils..
During my 3 week stay in Tacloban back in 2004, I used a Natwest Maestro card, and it wouldn't work in any ATM. I remember calling Natwest and they claimed nothing was wrong, card not blocked, etc. Then I tried Metrobank customer services, and guess what, they blamed NatWest. So for 3 weeks, I couldn't access £000's in my Natwest account, luckily my credit card saved the day. I remember the Natwest card worked fine in Hong Kong, but as soon as arrived in Philippines it clammed up.

I'm with HSBC now, and I always inform them when I'm flying out to Philippines and Hong Kong, and I have never had a problem (yet).