Diego opened the app. There it was — a toggle he’d never noticed: “I am traveling and confirm these transactions.” He’d missed it because the app’s UI had changed two days before his flight.
Relieved, Diego bought dinner with the card that evening. No problem. santander block card
But Diego hadn’t been in two cities. The first transaction was in Salvador at 10am; the second was an attempted online payment for a flight ticket from São Paulo at 1pm UK time — which he never made. Someone had skimmed his card details at the first ATM. Diego opened the app
Diego spent the next 10 days surviving on PayPal transfers to a Brazilian friend’s account, eating cheap street food, and borrowing money for his hostel. When he finally returned to London, he walked into a Santander branch on Tottenham Court Road. The manager listened, then said: “Why didn’t you use the ‘temporary unblock’ feature in the app?” No problem