Gangsta's Paradise

I have a bank account! I feel like I'm somebody!

One of the HR reps came to my office yesterday to deliver my ATM card and gave me some instructions. I must go online and change my password for online banking within 30 days. I must also go to a First Bank (my bank) ATM within 30 days to change my PIN. Deal. I immediately logged in to the website and changed my password. I also tried to find a list of branch locations but that did not exist.

Websites here are absolutely terrible. Even if it's in Chinese, via Google Translate I can tell it's terrible. And by that I simply mean function not aesthetics. For example, a bank that doesn't allow you to search for locations. So I went out for dinner tonight into a busier section of town and figured, on the way home I'd keep a look out for a First Bank ATM to change the PIN.

I saw every possible bank known to man. Take a look a this table below. If you pick one from column A, one from column B, and one from column C and call that the name of a bank; I saw it.

Then right as I was about to come to the end of the strip of businesses and turn down a pretty vacant road toward my building, there it stood in front of me, a First Bank branch! I wrote down the default 6 digit pin on a Post-It Note (actually a patent violating residue free sticky paper - more on that in the future) so that I could change it at an ATM. I was hoping the card reader on the machine was one that you just swipe and not one that sucks the card completely into the machine because I was sure that would be the end of my card.

Unfortunately, the ATM had jaws, in went the card. The first screen asked me to select a language, Chinese or English. OK, this is off to a great start. Then I see the most amazing thing I've ever seen at an ATM:

The screen says, "Attention! The gangster may use the English operation interface to cheat you!" I have no idea what this means, but now, not only am I neurotic about losing the card in the machine, but I'm looking over my shoulder for "The Gangster". I don't think they mean Steve Miller's Gangster of Love. I'm actually more worried about getting cheated by this ATM than I am about the gangster.

I went to the "more options" section of the menu and found the choice to change PIN. Now, if you've read any of this blog you know there is no way this is going to go down smoothly; I am not going to feel a sense of success walking away from this ATM. It's either going to eat my card, or something else will go wrong, right?

This ATM card is a VISA Debit card with 2 technologies built in. It has a normal magnetic strip, and an RF IC device that you can just wave by a sensor at some cash registers. So when I say I want to change my PIN it asked if I want to change the IC PIN or the Magnetic PIN. Clutched in my hand I have a 6 digit default PIN. As I attempt to change the magnetic PIN, it only allows me to input 4 digits and soon after I fail to change the PIN. Luckily, it doesn't eat my card and allows me to switch over to change the IC PIN which is a success. Where the heck do I get the magnetic PIN?!?!

Upon returning to the hotel, I find the original printout from the bank that the ATM card came in and it's in Chinese except for the PIN # and it appears to me like the default magnetic PIN might be 1234. So when I'm in the city tomorrow I may try that if I can find a First Bank. Watch, this time the card will get eaten.

Not that it really matters. My account balance is $0.00. I'm just glad I was able to get the account opened before the first payday as I could just imagine what the process is to recover from a failed direct deposit.