A BERMUDIAN travelling through Canada was left without access to cash because the Bank of Bermuda failed to warn customers of its impending systems switch prior to her departure.The woman left the island last month, unaware the bank was planning a $30-million upgrade that would change the number of her bank account, and render her debit card useless.

A chance conversation alerted her to the plans in time to have the relevant details sent by courier from Bermuda. However, when she tried to put them to use, she learned Canada’s major banks hadn’t been advised of the switch.

“It’s a good lesson for me not to rely on one financial institution or one debit card — which I’ve always done,” she said, “but I think they should have made sure.

“Before they switched they should have made sure that it worked. People depend on their cards especially when they are travelling. It seems they were ill-prepared.”

A bank spokesperson yesterday said all Canadian ATMs should now be linked to its network and invited customers with specific questions to contact a representative.

A member of the HSBC Group, the Bank of Bermuda enacted the change to make its electronic system compatible with the global giant’s 64 international branches.

As a result, customers were given new bank account numbers and debit cards, as well as new PIN numbers for telephone banking.

Bank of Bermuda chief executive officer Philip Butterfield told media in the days following the changeover that the upgrade had gone smoothly apart from a few “day one challenges”.

However The Royal Gazette <$>reported Friday that several companies were unable to pay their employees on time, because of problems caused by the system switch. The computer glitch left the woman without access to her account for eight days.

“I left Bermuda at the beginning of September, maybe the bank had already sent out literature but I’m not aware of it,” she said.

Two weeks into her trip, a friend who had been informed of the changeover by his Bermudian mother, happened to mention it in passing.

“I contacted my house sitter and had the information and my new card sent by courier as I had huge expenses to pay and was depending on the card to pay them.” The traveller first noticed the problem on October 17 when her card was rejected by ATMs at several major banks including the Royal Bank of Canada, Scotia Bank, CIBC and HSBC, where she was told “it didn’t work in their machines and they couldn’t help me. They said if it were attached to MasterCard they could, but it was attached to Visa”.

“I tried going online to HSBC but a warning popped up saying, ‘This is not a secure site’ and asked if I wanted to continue. Of course, I didn’t.” Attempts to speak with the Card Services Department in Bermuda proved just as futile.

“All I got was a recording saying there were no operators available. I must have been on the telephone for three hours over a three-day period which means, of course, I’ve incurred long-distance charges.

“Eventually, I made it through to the front desk. The woman there suggested I get a cash advance. I explained I’d tried that. She suggested I go to HSBC in Canada.

“I said I’d tried that. And then she suggested I call Card Services in Bermuda, which of course, I’d already done. I think the people are like soldiers in a war. They were trying to straighten it out.

“All that I spoke to were very kind, very sweet, but they couldn’t help.”

A desperate, after-hours call to Card Services proved successful.

“She explained that most Canadian ATMs do not yet recognise the new cards and suggested I try to use it at a big bank rather than at a smaller one or in a shopping centre.

“I explained that the Royal Bank of Canada, where I have had an account for 35 years, declined it — both automatically and personally — and that it was declined in every way possible at HSBC too.

“Finally, she said there was an encashment form at HSBC that I could have filled out and have faxed to the Bermuda branch where they would check what was in my account and send the information. The HSBC tellers in Canada never mentioned that.”

The bank employee also advised her of two banks which would accept her card, neither of which was HSBC.

“They told me to try CIBC and I was, in fact, able to get money out of there. What if I were travelling and trying to pay my hotel bill or pay for food? I think I’d be in trouble.

“It has been a hair-raising experience. I bet there are plenty of people outside of Bermuda in a pickle because of this week-long ‘glitch’.”

Richard Brown, head of Personal Financial Services, said: “Since the implementation of our new banking system last week, we have faced a number of challenges with the use of our debit cards at overseas ATMs.

“In order for our new debit cards to be accepted by other financial networks, it is necessary for them to update their own systems with the new banking identification number (BIN), which is passed onto them by Visa.

“Although we advised Visa of the new BINs well in advance of our systems conversion, it required individual banks to update their networks, in order for the new debit cards to be used overseas. The majority of ATMs around the world are now accepting the new debit cards.

“We are proactively working with those banks around the world not currently up to date, to ensure they update their systems as soon as possible.

“During this period we were able to assist the majority of our clients by getting funds to them through other channels. We very much regret any inconvenience that has caused to our customers.”

Bank’s system switch leaves customer in the lurch