julies

I am pulling together a very last minute trip and all has been going well until now. Now that I have a plan in place, the problem I am running across is making an online payment to Myanmar from the US. So far I have tried to pay online for two different thing, and have run across problems both times.

The first was a hotel reservation through booking.com. This is one of those situations where it is the hotel itself, rather than booking, that processes the payment. The first card I submitted, I got back a message a couple hours later saying that the card was declined and to please try another card. Thinking perhaps the problem was that we had not yet submitted a travel notification for that card I submitted a different card. This also will not go through.

I am working with Santa Maria travel agency, and they are making most of our arrangements. They will now take payment by credit card (for a 4% fee). They sent me their secure link for payment, and I tried four times to make my deposit. None went through.

So, I called our bank. The customer service rep told me this is the first time she has even gotten this message code about why the transaction can't be processed. The message is: Internet gambling prohibited. When this comes up, there is nothing the bank can do because this is a federal government sanction or policy, and an online transaction can't be processed. Apparently if a card is swiped or if it is key padded in, the transaction can go through.

So, calling is my next step for everything. Of course, there is a twelve hour time difference so that really further complicates things. When I called, the hotel told me to call their main office tomorrow during business hours because the front desk can't help me with credit card payment. I'm hoping this will work and I can move ahead tonight.

I am telling you all of this because I can now really, really see the advantage of working with an agency in Myanmar. Since we are now in 2017 and tourism there has started to catch up with the rest of the world, I had briefly contemplated just using my usual do-it-yourself method of making my own online hotel and airlines bookings. I can see now that I would have run up against this same thing every time I tried to book flights on oway.com and for every hotel I wanted to book.

We are now committed to the trip, but I will admit between this indication that the US government has serious doubts about the transparency and legitimacy of business in Myanmar and the fact that we watched "The Lady" last night--a biopic about Aung San Suu Kyi--which depicts a history of human rights abuses, I am conflicted about the ethics of visiting this country.

Kathie

I transferred money to Santa Maria via Western Union (our bank did this for us) last time we went. The payment was received by them within hours, and it certainly cost less than 4%.

julies

Yes, that is the other option they suggested to us.

Actually because we want to the transfer done quickly, Western Union's credit card transfer option will cost more than the 4% credit card fee. If we wanted to wait for 4 business days to transfer this from a bank account, W U would be cheaper than using a credit card.

This is a problem with last minute travel!

We looked into using transferwise.com, which has really cheap fees, and which we used to make a payment in the UK this past fall. But, they don't do Myanmar.

Kathie

Oh, so you were trying to transfer money from a credit card rather than a bank account via Western Union? I have to admit I've never heard of that. We simply had the amount deducted from our bank account and it happened within hours.

It sounds like you have it taken care of. Be aware that there will be many places in Myanmar where you cannot use your credit card, and when you can, there will be a fee.

thursdaysd

Well, things are easier than they were. When I went you needed to show up with absolutely mint condition USD and no payment in advance. (I was in Thailand at the time, and getting the notes there was easier than getting notes in mint condition from my bank in the US!)

julies

This is starting to turn into a nightmare for us. We'd been reading that Myanmar is changing and that there are quite a few ATMs now and that people no longer need to arrive with money belts full of pristine US dollars. And, I'd seen the availability of online booking sites that many people on other forums said they were successfully using.

Now, however, that we are actually getting close to leaving and trying to figure out about how to access money and pay for things, the picture is starting to change. In addition to having our credit cards rejected because of US banking regulations, we are now reading over on TA of many US citizens recently in Myanmar whose cards worked nowhere in Myanmar, and that includes ATMs. We had not been planning to use cards in restaurants or things like that, and all of our flights and most hotels will be arranged through SM. But, we had been planning to use ATMS to access cash for daily expenses. This is now sounding more and more like ATMs are a no-go possibility.

Kathie

There are plenty of people here on Fodors who have used their US - based cards in ATMs In Myanmar. It is true that for many years you could not use credit cards in Myanmar. But the banking regulations have changed.

I'm wondering if the problem is with your specific bank. What kind of card are you trying to use? You might have to be on the phone with your bank at the same time booking.com or Santa Maria are charging the card.

We took enough cash to pay for everything for our 2015 trip except for a couple of expensive restaurants.

MmePerdu

Maybe you should consider going back to the non-electronic-wad-of-cash way of doing things so many of us here thought was worth the bother when we couldn't use credit cards anywhere and there were no ATMs. Bring cash and change it for the kyat you need after arrival. I don't really understand what the fuss is about. If one way doesn't work, fall back to the tried & true.

yestravel

We took the wad of cash and barely used any of it. Like you we had prepaid pretty much everything via Santa Maria and the couple times we used ATMs we had no issue. I remember somewhere one ATM didn't work and we went around the corner and another ATM worked fine. Also I noted that credit cards were taken in alot of places. The biggest problem with money that I had was getting the pristine bills before we left. I'm sure it will all work out for you, but it can be frustrating esp given as you said "last minute."

MmePerdu

Much better to take the wad and have it to bring home than not and need it. I think many of us take some cash along, even when going to places we're sure will have readily available ATMs. A back-up plan is always a good idea far from home. No need to tempt fate. Or worry. So easy to avoid.

CaliNurse

Why not have Santa Maria book the hotel, instead of DIY on booking.com?
If I correctly understand your situation, that would save a step and a phone call.

julies

I've now asked SM to try to book that hotel for me instead of contacting the hotel myself. I'd only booked it on booking.com because the day after SM told me they couldn't get us the particular type of room we wanted in that hotel, I saw on booking.com and grabbed it.

Incidentally, SM has now told me that in Myanmar credit card info can't be taken over the phone and keyed in that way. So, Western Union will end up being our option.

We've often taken extra cash on trips (and we have several types of concealed money belts) because we had to make cash payments. However, in those situations we were able to pull cash from ATMs in-country and combine it with the cash we brought from home.

I think one of the biggest issues is that my husband really does not feel comfortable walking around with large amounts of cash for an entire three+ week trip. We are now trying to get as much as possible put on our SM account.

I think perhaps the issue is some banks will not do business in Myanmar, and I think we may have the unholy trinity of cards from banks that don't do business there. We've got one more different card we can approach the bank about.

Thanks for all of your thoughts. I think one of the reasons this is coming as such a big shock is because so many things I had read (including in a thread here last month) was from people who said things had changed and that the old rules no longer apply as far as money in Myanmar.

CaliNurse

That's perhaps the trouble with information overload--so many different stories and points of view to sort through, it's hard to know which has the most validity. There are threads on places like TA which indicate both bad problems and "no problem"!

(On a personal note, re: similar differing sources of info, is India's money situation. Differing stories and experiences, threads saying quite opposite things. Friend there says she's had no problems with cash out of ATMs or good exchange rate, or money supply,USD to rupee at her hotel. Fingers crossed for next month!)

The last stages of trip planning are often overwhelming Julie. To have this additional, unexpected wreck throw in, must be adding to the normal level of anxiety! But...you'll soon be there, enjoying yourselves!! Take deep breaths 'til then...it WILL be ok!

CaliNurse

Wrench thrown in...not wreck! Although you probably feel like a wreck ,til it's all sorted.

CaliforniaLady

Do you have an American Express card? I have found a higher success rate with it for foreign transactions. How about Pay Pal?

I don't think it's any big deal to take some cash. I got a Cookie Monster pencil box from Target and put a bunch of crisp $100 bills in it. We paid our agency (Shalom Myanmar) upon arrival for all our hotels and flights, so the majority of the money was gone at that point.

Regarding your worries about human rights violations, remember that you are doing a service to the lovely Burmese by visiting their country, and spending your money there. There are among the nicest and friendliest people anywhere, and they have been at the mercy of their government.

Enjoy your trip, and thank your lucky stars that you have the privilege of going to all these cool, exotic places.

thursdaysd

You know that cash will work.

You do not know whether (your) ATM cards will work.

You do not know whether (your) credit cards will work.

I would take cash.

I had similar concerns about the political and human rights situation when I went. A woman I had met in Vietnam two years before had gone (when I had chosen not to) and had virtually adopted her driver. I used him, and did not use planes or boats or stay in higher end places (such as they were) to limit the money going to the government. Unfortunately, while the situation WRT elections has improved, the situation for minorities has worsened (look up Rohingya).

julies

Last night I did feel like a wreck and needed to stay up until 2:00 am (one of the problems with visiting a place halfway across the world is the time difference) to get some of this sorted out. SM was sending me messages telling me I only had four more hours to get the payment to them or they wouldn't be able to still get the hotels we had been planning.

I tried my last ace-in-the-hole credit card, and it too was denied. So, I decided to go the Western Union route. Of course, as soon as I created an account with them and tried to process all of this I discovered this too would entailed phone call because the online form I was using (despite the fact I had started the process on the page where they gave the fees for money transfer to Myanmar) only asked which US state the money was being sent to. Since I now was at the point where I needed to get on the phone anyway, I decided to call bank #3 which had declined my most recent attempt.

This time it was their fraud detection unit that had nixed the transaction. So, after ten minutes on the phone with them, the transaction finally went through. Hooray!

We never did call bank #1 and assumed it would tell us the same thing as bank #2 (the US government won't allow us to do online transactions with Myanmar). Perhaps we jumped to conclusions, and I am hoping that their denial was also fraud prevention. But, I doubt it because that was for a much smaller amount (just payment for one hotel) than the big chunk of money I was trying to send to SM. So, I am guessing that the issue with that bank is also that they don't do business in Myanmar due to the US government policies. Interestingly enough, in all of this I found out yesterday that in Oct. 2016 the US government lifted all sanctions against Myanmar. I do not know if all banks are aware of this and have changed their policies accordingly.

Whew! Now we know that we have at least one card that should work there (we hope). And, after paying SM our balance on arrival, we won't need as large an amount of cash to travel with. I am really glad we scheduled this country as our first stop so we won't have to deal with carrying money from home for the entire trip or play the start to collect money from various ATMs over the course of several days technique that we have had to resort to on past trips.

Yes, I've been reading about the massacres and about many Rohingya fleeing the country for a while now. Despite everything that is going on here in the US right now, I am so glad that by luck of the draw I was born in this country. All of us on this forum are fortunate in that we can even contemplate the luxury of travel.

I am putting this out in detail as a cautionary tale for other future travelers to Myanmar and hope it gives others insights into why this is still a more difficult country to travel to than manyothers.

sartoric

If I may elaborate on the banking/sanction issues...as I understand it. Yes sanctions have been lifted, however large banks can be very slow to deal with changing their stance on fx services to a small country, that doesn't attract much in the way of demand.

When I last delved into the matter here in Australia, at that time (recently, but pre October 2016), there were still some individuals who were sanctioned.
These are mostly military men, who are owners or shareholders in the banks of Myanmar (amongst many other corporations). So, at that time, I found I could send a telegraphic transfer to certain banks, but not others.

Anyway, good to hear you're sorted, don't forget, brand new bills are best.

Kathie

I'm glad you got it sorted out.

I expect your banks hadn't updated their databases about the sanctions being lifted. And their error message "Internet gambling prohibited" just goes to show how clueless they are.

I spent a decade and a half debating about the ethics of visiting Burma. I started in the early 1990s, when I was planning 7 day trip out of Bangkok (the longest one could stay at the time). As I was preparing to pay for the package though Thai Airways, ASSK asked that people not visit as a way to put pressure on the generals. I cancelled my trip. It wasn't until 2009 that we made it there.

No question, what they are doing to the Rohinga is terrible - but it is no more terrible than the genocide the generals were perpetrating on many of the ethnic groups in the north for decades. Do some reading especially about the history - take a look at my reading list. "Kathie's Burma Bookshelf" is the title of the thread.

For most of the people of Burma, their lives have improved since the opening up of the country. I'm sure you will find your own ways to help the peoples of Myanmar.

yestravel

Glad you got it sorted out. We also kept putting off visiting Burma and glad that we finally did a few years ago. The people have to be some of the friendliest & nicest we have ever encountered in our travels. It was a wonderful trip to a developing country that was changing by the minute. I was careful to try & avoid staying in or using any services provided/owned by the generals. That took a lot of checking and who knows if I was completely successful - not easy to sort out. Have a great trip!