ATM kept my card

1. 1

   Photograph the ATM and its location

   The bank name, the machine ID on the front, and the street or building.

2. 2

   Freeze the card in your banking app now

   Before you call anyone. It takes seconds and it ends the risk.

3. 3

   Contact your bank yourself

   Use the number printed in your banking app or on the bank's official site — never a number a bystander gives you.

4. 4

   Never share your PIN, CVV or an OTP

   Not with a stranger, not with someone claiming to be from the bank. No real bank asks.

5. 5

   Go into the branch, if the machine is attached to one

   A card swallowed by a machine at a BCA, Mandiri, BNI or CIMB Niaga branch during banking hours can usually be retrieved at the counter with your passport. This is exactly why the money guide tells you to use branch machines in banking hours — at a street machine at midnight retrieval is much harder, so call your bank straight away and block or freeze the card.

6. 6

   If the card is blocked and you have no cash

   Pay by second card or phone wallet where accepted, ask your accommodation whether they can bill your room and settle later, and use an official bank branch counter for an emergency cash advance with your passport. Message Visio on WhatsApp if you are stuck — do not borrow from a stranger who approaches you.

Next time: withdraw at a bank branch machine, in banking hours, so a swallowed card is usually an inconvenience rather than a long wait.

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Last verified 17 Aug 2026.