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I am in Italy and my credit card broke into three pieces. I have a US bank account. I know my account number. I didn't register for international transfer before leaving the US. What can I do to get money from my US bank account?

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    You probably need to call your bank
    – Midavalo
    Commented Sep 16, 2022 at 3:10
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    If nothing else works, US citizens can get a credit for return home from US consulates/embassies.
    – o.m.
    Commented Sep 16, 2022 at 5:28
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    That's why I carry a debit card and a credit card and cash in local currency whenever I travel abroad. If feasible, all in different pockets.
    – Philipp
    Commented Sep 16, 2022 at 13:51
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    Not adding it as an answer because I never tried it and don’t know if it still works, but you used to be able to go to the desk of any bank part of the card’s network (Visa, MasterCard…) and ask for cash with just the number and some ID. Calling the card’s support line will tell you your options. Also you can normally request an urgent replacement while abroad, though delays can be very variable. In al cases there may be costs associated.
    – jcaron
    Commented Sep 16, 2022 at 15:21
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    Maybe can add the card to your phone for NFC payments, but that generally won't help to get cash if that's what you need (there are exceptions but I don't think it's likely you'll get it to work with a US card in Europe).
    – Spehro 'speff' Pefhany
    Commented Sep 16, 2022 at 16:34

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To get a replacement physical card you can either:

Contact your US bank, or, you can also contact the emergency toll-free number from your credit card brand; this is likely preferable as they can coordinate a replacement around the world, which your bank may not do as fast.

You can contact Customer Service when traveling outside of the U.S. by calling (country code) +1-801-902-3100. This number also appears on the back of your Discover Card. Please be sure to retain this number with your travel documents. You also can report your card lost or stolen online. Please click the link to report your card lost or stolen.

As a temporary measure, or if you can't secure a new card in time before you return home, assuming you have a participating bank and mobile phone, you can use Apple/Google/Samsung... Pay, it is accepted nearly everywhere they accept cards due to the dual use terminals (some older terminals may not have it though).

For AMEX for example, they advertise that as soon that your replacement request is placed, they will update your wallet app remotely, so that you can continue using it while your card is shipped

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    For a (sometimes quite expensive) fee, a new card can be reissued and rushed to you within 24 hours. One can also use the card number to withdraw cash from (almost) any bank, again for a fee (and it would count as a cash advance).
    – littleadv
    Commented Sep 16, 2022 at 16:59
  • Some banks (DKB in Germany as an example) also offer an "emergency cash delivery" service. Might be good to check whether your bank supports this.
    – Carsten Hagemann
    Commented Sep 17, 2022 at 7:50
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What can I do to get money from my US bank ??

You can still use the card online to buy flight ticket, order food/Uber, send cash to yourself via Western Union, buy some skype credits to call your bank for more ideas, etc. Also try taping/gluing the card to see if it works with a chip reader or magnetic stripe reader, and check if it works contactless. You have 3 cards now, that should give you more options.

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    If OP has a compatible mobile and participating bank, they can also use Google/Apple... Pay, especially in Europe where it extremely likely to be accepted (except in small shops, but that seems rarer and rarer)
    – Nicolas Formichella
    Commented Sep 16, 2022 at 5:54
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    I think contactless is unlikely to work since the antenna is probably broken and hard to fix. But the chip is more likely to be intact. A careful taping job might allow the chip to be used, especially in a store reader where the card is inserted manually.
    – jkej
    Commented Sep 16, 2022 at 11:24
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    The antenna in a contactless card goes all the way around the card (my card is transparent, you can see it :), but the chip is just in one place, under the metal pad where it connects. So the chip is very likely to still work. If you can get the card to fit in the reader.
    – Criticizing Israel not allowed
    Commented Sep 16, 2022 at 11:50
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    @jkej thanks, yes that's why I recommended taping/gluing. Doesn't hurt try to contactless too in case.
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented Sep 16, 2022 at 11:52
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    @NicolasFormichella "extremely likely to be accepted" - that depends a lot on which part of Europe you are in. Germany is in Europe and notorious for being quite conservative about payment methods.
    – Jan
    Commented Sep 16, 2022 at 13:28
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Load your card on Google/Apple Pay services and use the NFC on your phone to pay wirelessly. All Europe has contactless pos.

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Did the magnetic stripe and/or chip break? I haven't been to Italy, but I guess that in many shops you'll just need to insert the chip in their machines, it doesn't go very far in. If the magnetic stripe is intact, it should be relatively easy to swipe it through the machines. In any case: if it looks likely that you'll be able to extract it (the part of the card you use) again I don't think the people in the shop will care much, especially if you explain the situation and ask before shopping.

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    Most card readers don't even have a magnetic strip reader now: we use contactless.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Sep 16, 2022 at 8:57
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    My old Zettle card terminal (I am a merchant) has a stripe reader, but very very few people have the old cards that must be strip-read, and so the newer terminals (and SumUp) don't have a stripe reader.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Sep 16, 2022 at 9:01
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    @Weather Vane: Very recently (30 June 2022) Italy has passed a law that compels all merchants to accept credit and debit cards. Some shops are dragging feet ("Today my reader doesn't work") but you can threaten to call the police on them and see how they react.
    – Vorbis
    Commented Sep 16, 2022 at 11:53
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    @Vorbis if I had to guess, the "three pieces" are the front of the card, the back of the card, and the chip. That's how these new crappy cards we get in the US tend to fall apart.
    – OpenAI was the last straw
    Commented Sep 16, 2022 at 13:35
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    and if the stripe itself is in three pieces it is a) unlikely to be rejoined with a flawless magnetic pattern intact, and b) likely to snag the sticky tape in the stripe reader, and/or c) be usable only once before the parts separate. I always found that reading a card stripe is quite physically demanding of the card, and this one effectively has two 'hinges'.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Sep 16, 2022 at 13:40
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I have also had my credit card break into a few pieces, so I know how to solve your problem. Just use cyanoacrylate glue from your local hardware shop to glue it back together and you will be fine.

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    Fine in which sense? It certainly won't fixe the broken contactless antena.
    – Vladimir F Героям слава
    Commented Sep 18, 2022 at 21:09
  • @VladimirFГероямслава Author of question does not even anything about an antenna anywhere.
    – Gothic Nostril
    Commented Sep 18, 2022 at 21:27

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