Unable to top-up Revolut from AIB account

VonLuck

I recently had to switch banks to AIB and only intend on using it for salary payments and Revolut for my day-to-day stuff.. Yesterday I tried to top up my Revolut account via my AIB debit card for the first time, but I got the below message.

Your bank has declined the transaction due to a closed account. Please retry using another card or top-up.

The account you selected is closed on your bank's side. Please contact them to resolve the issue before retrying with the same card.

I have no idea why this is happening as I've topped up with my old KBC account loads of times without issue. I thought it might be some daily limit on my card, but I can't seem to find any explicit information on that online. I also figured it's because I never used my card with a chip and pin yet, but reading the letter I got with my card, you only need to do that to use contactless.

I then tried to manually transfer from my AIB app to my Revolut IBAN, but then I realise I need a card reader!? This is a card reader which I was never supplied with, or told that I needed on account set up by the way. Absolutely ridiculous! Now I'm stuck with no funds in my Revolut account, and I can't contact AIB over the weekend because no branches are open and their support lines are closed.

Does anyone have any idea what I might be doing wrong here? Am I just trying to transfer too much money, or has some security setting on my account not been enabled?

Citrus_8

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058306944/unable-to-top-up-revolut-from-aib-account

1. You can order a card reader via the online banking.

2. You can call AIB on Saturday. They're still opened.

Just a thought, maybe a bank car has never been used at POS or ATM with a PIN (aka, not yet activated?).

coylemj

OP, as per the previous poster, have you ever used the AIB debit card in an ATM or at a retail point of sale (POS) machine? If you have, try putting the AIB card into Google wallet, make it your default card and then try adding money into Revolut using Google Wallet as the target.

If you've never used the card in an ATM or at a POS terminal, I'd say you need to pop into your local convenience store and use the card for a purchase, that should enable it. You'll need to insert the card into the POS machine and enter the PIN, contactless typically doesn't work until you've used the card at least once with the PIN.

VonLuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120911453#Comment_120911453

AIB card services are not available on the weekend, crazily enough. As if people don't have card issues at the weekend!

I tried using a neighbour's car reader, put in my PIN incorrectly (I thought it was my online PAC that I needed to enter), and now the card is locked! I only entered it one time incorrectly and now it says I need to contact AIB directly! This is the most inconvenient banking system I have ever heard of.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120911566#Comment_120911566

The letter with my card explicitly said you only need to use chip and PIN if you want to activate contactless. A friend suggested adding my card to Google Wallet, but the payment wouldn't transfer.

I am really regretting going with AIB now if I'm honest. I was going to go fully with Revolut, but people convinced me that it was risky in case you ever encounter an issue with an account getting locked, but this experience with AIB is just as bad.

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120919095#Comment_120919095

That banks are either giving their services for free or for minimal fees and consequently there are investing very little in these services. If you do some googling I expect you'll find that people have had issues with all the banks offering services to the public. So even if you ditch AIB and move to another bank there is no guarantee that you won't have some kind of issue with the new bank. Most people avoid this kind of problem by banking with more than one institution and I'd advise you to do the same.

Citrus_8

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120919095#Comment_120919095

I'd say it's a 50/50 your own fault for not looking things online yourself and assuming things... Inconvenient, I agree, many dislike this old school card reader. However, the fact that a card was blocked after just one attempt suggests that you have already entered a pin incorrectly the previous 2 times. Perhaps, when you tried to activate the card you've entered a pin incorrectly. This would explain why it hasn't worked as expected... Either way, you have what to learn from this situation - less negative emotions and more focus to the info research (ie, read and follow instructions) before doing something. Card reader instructions are available on the website and can be quickly found on search... What made you think that a card reader would know your online login when it works offline, I have no idea. Even logic tells it could only be some offline code, written in the card. So that could only be PIN.

VonLuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120919214#Comment_120919214

Firstly, do you not think it is a silly operation whereby your bank does not give any indication of the requirement for a card reader until you try to add a payee? At the least they should provide you with one upon opening an account as by the time you try to do this, you have to wait a number of days for it to be delivered.

Secondly, I have just spoken with the bank and they've told me that it was a randomised block by Visa for security purposes and was nothing to do with user error. I'll accept your apology now, thank you!

Citrus_8

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120919701#Comment_120919701

Of course it's silly, that's why I'm giving them that 50%. But I understand that retail banking has dropped a service level significantly since two banks left Ireland. And ever before that banking internal operations weren't that strong.

Now it's the times when the customers have take care after themselves and find the info online as even if we call, sometimes are given not full or even sometimes a misleading information. That's a sad reality. And I can see a new generation of people coming who think they're entitled to a salary just because they appeared at work.

You won't get an apology, retail banks don't need you 😉

coylemj

OP posted..

The letter with my card explicitly said you only need to use chip and PIN if you want to activate contactless. A friend suggested adding my card to Google Wallet, but the payment wouldn't transfer.

I can't see how you could use a new debit card to topup your Revolut account without first activating it by using it (with the PIN) in an ATM or POS machine. How would you feel if your card was intercepted in the post and then used to drain your AIB account by an online withdrawal? The whole point of having to first use a card in a machine to activate it using the PIN is to establish that it is the account holder who is in possesion of the card. Because the PIN is sent in a seperate letter, usually in advance of the card.

VonLuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120920872#Comment_120920872

I am confident as to what the letter said, but maybe they misworded it or omitted that it wasn't just contactless payments? I thought it was unusual as well as it was the first thing I thought of when my card didn't work.

Speaking with the AIB representative this morning, he did not say anything about activating the card.

Regarding the card reader locking my card because of me entering the pin incorrectly a single time, I think I know why. I was at a company event last week and was using the company AIB card. I had mistakenly took out my own card (forgetting I had it in my wallet as I never used it since I opened the account), so maybe the incorrect PIN I entered contributed to the issue on the card reader.

Either way, it's all resolved now, but the AIB representative said it could happen again given it's a random Visa block that could happen to anyone at any time. Very strange.

Hibernicis

I moved from UB to AIB over 18 months ago. I find it difficult to believe that their systems are so far behind and their service is so inferior. I put between 60 and 100 transactions per month through my VISA card. I’ve had that “random VISA block for security purposes” on four occasions. Twice in Dunnes Stores (at the checkout, not online), once in an electrical retailer and once in a filling station; all cardholder present transactions. None of the transactions were out of band in terms of amount and all were repeat transactions. I had no warning in advance, just standing at cash registers like a fool. Fortunately on each occasion I had BOI/N26 cards to fall back on. Not once was I given any kind of credible explanation when I contacted AIB. On each occasion I asked for a follow up call with an explanation and on each occasion I was promised this. And not once did it materialise. I get what Jim is saying re cheap/free banking forcing the banks to pay peanuts and employ monkeys, but AIB is truly atrocious. I never experienced this nonsense with UB. If my card was blocked, they notified me by SMS immediately, and gave me both automated and human based options to resolve the issue.

VonLuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120922943#Comment_120922943

Wow. I did not realise this was a regular issue. What's the point in banking with AIB if they can't provide a reliable service? I was lucky that I already had funds in my Revolut account, but what if this was an urgent payment that was blocked and I had no backup account?

If this happens on a regular basis I may consider abandoning all accounts with Irish banks and rely solely on Revolut, or potentially open an N26 account as a fee-free backup account in the unlikely event I can't access funds in Revolut.

Hibernicis

I wouldn't see either Revolut or N26 as being an alternative. Revolut are notorious for freezing accounts (plenty of threads on this online) as well as loosing/screwing up direct debits and N26 certainly went through a phase of freezing accounts as well. Unfortunately, I think the days of banking with one bank you could rely upon are gone. It seems that best practice now is to have your account/card of choice for day to day used, and have a backup card or two, in funds, for whenever your primary card is declined. Far from ideal, but needs must.

coylemj

I have BoI debit and credit cards and have never been refused payment in a retail situation so I'm amazed at the experiences of poster Hibernicis (post #11) documented above.

FWIW, BoI allow you to setup a new payee with the minimum fuss, it does not involve a card reader. When you define a new payee, there is a transfer limt of €1,000 for the first 48 hours, to protect people from having their accounts drained if they fall for one of those phishing scams.

And BoI does not restrict you to one mobile device, you can have the mobile app installed on a phone and more than one tablet. When you login on a PC, it will show you a menu of your mobile devices and ask which one you want to use to authenticate the login.

Joekers

Anyone having any issues topping up your Revolut account via AIB debit card ?

Noticed since last week I am unable to add money.

Mrs OBumble

I did a top-up late last week.

Have you turned data saver mode on? It seems to block the alerts from AIB.

Hibernicis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121844784#Comment_121844784

Just tried it and it worked. First time topping up using that AIB Visa Debit. Are you're getting the approval/verification message from AIB ?

Joekers

All I get is

"We're sorry, something has gone wrong. Please try later."

Not getting any 3ds from AIB etc. I've been using the card with revolut for last year with no issue.

If I drop the top up amount down from 100 to 25 it works ...

VonLuck

I've constantly been having issues with topping up from my AIB account. I just do a standard bank transfer from the AIB app to my Revolut IBAN. Works every time.

Joekers

Will give this a go.

How long does it take to hit your account when you transfer using IBAN, debit card top was handy as it was instant

Hibernicis

@Joekers

Very variable. I’ve seen it reach Revolut same day, within a few hours. But also take 24 hours.

Qrt

Revolut top ups send bank fraud systems into overdrive for anything more than a couple of hundred. Better to do a SEPA transfer if you can.

Toots

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121859300#Comment_121859300

I’ve had issues trying to transfer anything over a couple of hundred onto my Revolut using my AIB debit card. I’ve gotten round this by using Apple Pay to do the transfer but even still I usually only do 1k at a time because higher than that can sometimes decline. Spoke to AIB card services and fraud prevention is the reason I was given - their systems seem to be super suspicious of Revolut for some reason.