Bank Security SMS Text Breakdown

The problem you have is in the client application. It’s not related to them delivering the OTPs.

Goodness gracious how complicated.

Xpatfone. Very cheap monthly payment with no long term committment. comes with its own number or you can port in a UK number. Receives SMSes anywhere in the world. Free UK and US calls on top - unlimited.

For a couple of dollaers a month more you can add many other countries to the free calls

Then either use wifi or get a local data sim just for VOIP

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Presuming we have a problem with SMS receiving in roaming on ‘normal’ phone plans - how is Xpatphone technically different to NOT have this problem?

Normal SMS will go to any phone. I suspect the recipient number nay be an issue but this uses UK numbers and receives UK, us and Australasians plus European banks and brokers. Never let me down

I don’t use tokens etc as I never have an issue

Has anybody tried using a European VOIP phone number to receive the SMS from the bank? With Skype, for example, I can get a Danish phone number (other European countries available require residency to get a number).

I do not know if this is helpful, but I noticed in the millenniumbcp app today (at least for iPhone) there is an options in settings that seems to allow you to do Face ID to authorize operations. I did not need to do this as the sms codes are working for me, but it might be worth trying this for those of you having sms issues.

Ok, I’m ready to take the jump on the SIM card. Any recommendations for a SIM vendor on eBay? Are they all legit? The SIM is working fine outside of Europe? Can you recharge it?

Also, if you weren’t able to get access to your account how were you able to get the bank to change the phone number to use the new SIM for SMS verification messages?

Thanks.

I initially bought a NOS sim-card on ebay, their cheapest pre-paid tariff I believe is called smth like ‘Libre Dia’.
Activation is automatic, can top-up online etc. but I never used it outside of Europe.
This needs to be used every 90 days for a paid call/sms otherwise it will be blocked.

I also have a MEO pre-paid sim-card, this one bought in PT, their tariff works slightly better i.e. they automatically charge 1 euro for inactive account so less risk of deactivation for non-use.

A third possible option would be Vodafone PT, I have no experience with them.

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How about calling their customer support line?

I’ve called the customer support line earlier when the issue first arose. They weren’t very helpful and actually a bit condescending. I’ve sent an email to our “prestige client rep” and am waiting on a response though so far my experience has been that they are quite slow.

I was hoping that somebody above who had been in this situation could add some light to the situation.

Thanks for the information on the variety of mobile providers.

Sure, my point was that if you are unable to change the phone number by yourself, then there’s not much choice left other than calling the bank’s support line or visiting their branch in-person.

Generally I’d say you need to adjust your expectations along the lines of the other threads here, in that you should not expect too much efficiency from the ‘support lines’ etc. in Portugal but rather more rely on the in-person and direct communication whenever this is available.
For reference, my previous issue with MBCP was only resolved by literally me booking a flight and visiting my branch in PT, where nobody could solve it either except the ‘big boss’ i.e. the branch manager. And I gather this is ‘normal’, we just need to adjust some dials on our internal ‘clock’. Once I have had my in-person meeting with the branch manager, I now have his direct email and his mobile phone number, he now also knows me as his ‘good client’ and I am pretty sure any future issue would be dealt with much quicker and more efficiently if it ever arises. He told me his life story, I told him mine (well, not quite :slight_smile: ) and that’s how things seem to work best in this part of the world.

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Oh i am so happy to have discovered this thread. I too have the same problem with mbcp in Portugal. I dont receive the sms verification code. I have probably called the customer care like about 50 x times in the past 6 months. They keep ‘logging a call’ with their tech system and no one has got back to me…
I reside in South Africa . There is nothing wrong with my network here. Everytime i phone and ask if i can change the number… they say i only do it at the branch.
I cannot download the mobile app as i dont receive the code there either.
I need to be able to transact on that account urgently.
Is there anyone on this forum that can suggest something… I cannot accept that flying to Portugal to see the branch to be my only option.
They claim to be one of the best privately owned international banks but offer NO SUPPORTfor their overseas clients. I am completing gobsmacked at how archaic their system is…!
Any suggestions woukd be greatly appreciated. TIA
Cathy

I hate to say it, but have a few drinks to help you achieve acceptance, go to PT, get a PT SIM to take home with you, and go into a branch and get the number changed to it.

There are various services that you can get a EU SIM from (onesimcard.com, there are others, see above) and that might work for you. But I kind of doubt that they will let you change your number from remote, since they are depending on that number to identify you in the first place (since the multibanco auth code is so terrible).

If you have a full service firm you are working with, maybe they can assist you with all this without having to go there.

As has been discussed elsewhere on other threads here, the way things work in PT is not necessarily how they work other places, customer service is not necessarily what you’d expect it to be elsewhere, and this is just how it is and you have to adjust your expectations accordingly if you wish to retain your sanity. They aren’t going to change for you, and other banks are simply going to be problematic just in different ways.

Sorry.

Try contacting your phone carrier and informing it of the problem. When I was having problems the bank swore it was not on its end but on the phone carrier’s end. I worked both ends and it was eventually cured. I don’t know how or why, but it did.

Agree. Invest in a proper Portuguese SIM card (and thus phone number so you don’t appear so “foreign = dodgy”).

I use Vodafone PT EasyTotal: costs 1.67 € every 60 days to keep it alive - easy to recharge online with Multibanco if you have a PT bank account. Receiving calls and texts is free. Have not tested receiving in the US, but I did get texts whilst visiting Canada.

Personally I don’t think OP will have any problems being or appearing foreign in PT.
I have none, a sample of one, but broadly true.

Sem problemas :wink:

Bank anti-fraud systems use various “signals” to flag suspicious activities… a phone number they consider foreign can be one of them.

And I’m sure you’ve already experienced companies and apps that can only enter PT’s +351 numbers in their systems. A cheap PT SIM just makes life easier :slight_smile:

A year on and I am still a fan of Xpatfone. I use it around the world and for bank accounts in different countries including the US. The benefit is that the SMS comes to you over wifi or data so there is no way it can be blocked. You dont even need a local SIM card as it works over wifi. It has never failed me

I got myself set up with a legit PT number from WOO, along with home internet. It’s more expensive, but given we’ll be there a lot, whatever. I’m paying 35 eur a month for 20 gigs of data and 500mbps internet in my apartment. I can bump the internet or phone speeds up as needed too, which is nice.