What is wrong with 7-11 ATM's?

@Lisa. Tried it today with both MasterCard creditcard and Bank card using Maestro. Both have an EMV chip and both didn't work. I didn't try the Citibank yet.

oO Surprised and sad to hear that! I hoped for a country to country resolution...

Did anyone call MasterCard lately and got any vital information? Even the Helpdesks didn't know about this problem... And nobody can tell how long this issue will take...

We tried German Maestro cards at a Post bank, with a stripe over the EMV chip - didn't work. They also said they cannot give us money at the counter.

We will try Citibank counter tomorrow.

How we got some cash meanwhile: there is a toll free number of Mastercard for Japan. I called them and told them that I cannot get any cash. They know about the situation but couldn't explain it. It took me like 2 hours on this (tollfree) hotline, but finally I got an emergency cash advance that they issued for a Western Union Office (in our case: a Travelex office in Kyoto station). With the information I got on the phone and my passport I could get cash there.

My also has cirrus but it does not make difference, the problem persist and is connected with the presence of the chip on the card.
At the moment we are trying to solve paying with the credit cards where those are accepted to save the cash for other places.
From what I understood the problem is with cash withdrawal, if you pay directly with the card there isn't a problem, MasterCard credit card works, but I could not find a place that accept maestro cash card as payment mean.

Anybody could withdraw cash with Master Card brand in Postal office? I dont mean Maestro or Cirrus. I mean MasterCard logo. Thanks

Again I try to explain the current situation:

7-Eleven ATMs: don't accept Mastercard, Maestro, Cirrus, but accept everything else.

Other ATMs: don't accept Maestro cards with EMV chips, but accept everything else.

Thanks for information Uji,

but as one of the posters said, he could not withdraw cash with Cirrus card in Postal office...

However , i dont use Cirrus card. But i use masterCard debt card, therefore do you think i can withdraw cash with that card in Japan post ATMs?

According to MasterCard: http://www.mastercard.com/jp/personal/jp/cardholderservices/atmlocatio...
German Cards should work again as well.

In another thread at TripAdvisor someone from the Netherlands confirmed a working ATM in Osaka.

I had the same problem and it was quite awkward (had to borrow money from my Japanes coworkers).
The latest update from MasterCard was again confusing as the Japanese and English version of it say Dutch, German and Canadian cards would work again; however, the German, Italian, French and Dutch version of the same news only talk about Dutch cards.
So I checked it out a couple of minutes ago and nearly lost all hope again, when my German card Maestro Card was refused by a 7/11 ATM. Just because I happened to pass a Japanes post station, I tried it at their ATM for the sake of completeness:
IT WORKS!
So: German Maestro Cards with Chip work again at post station ATM's. Seem not to work at 7/11 (might have been a problem of that specific ATM, though).

Thanks btw for the information on this website: Would have been very confused about this problem without this forum!

Thanks Julian for your information! Glad to hear that the information posted on the MC-website seems to be true!
So maybe we have to rely more on PostOffice than on the 7/11 ATMs but at least people are able to withdraw money at least...

I just want to report that I was able withdraw money at a post office with both Visa and MasterCard U.S. issued debit cards, no other logos and no chips. The MasterCard is from a small local bank, the Visa from one of the biggies. I had heard about this problem just before I left, so I didn't even try a 7-11, though I assume the Visa would still work there. I know this follows what has been described, but sometimes it's comforting to know that it actually worked.

Regular Cirrus ATM cards from the U.S. don't seem to work at Japan Post atms. Citibank worked perfectly fine. However, Citibank is only at the airport and within large cities so getting there to get money will be a pain.

Ugh, no kidding, this is a BIG issue for us. My daughter is going to college in Japan, been using her card to access money that we put in her US account. She's leaving on a trip for Hong Kong and needs cash but found out access is being denied. Tried the ATM's at the banks, 711, post office, went down to her main bank in person, couldn't do anything at the counter either. Trying Citibank now as we speak.

This doesn't affect me now as I returned from Japan before it started...

I didn't think the US cards would have an issue as most of them do not have chips. From recent posts it seems there is another issue now.....if people are all of a sudden unable to use cards that were okay before....

...So, tried Citibank, no go. Tried making travelers checks with credit card, no go. As of this moment we have exhausted all avenues that we could possibly think of, including those of our bank's customer service representatives. We'll need to resort to wiring money to her account but that takes a couple of days and she needed the money immediately for a trip. I feel for those in Japan that don't have a Japanese account or are on a trip. What a fiasco! Argh!

Good thing I listened to my colleague's and my mum's advice on getting a Visa/Plus debit card in addition to my MasterCard debit before I leave for japan.

Still, thanks for the update!

I have a card with Maestro with EMV chip, which was issued in the Netherlands. However, it didn't work at several post offices, 7Eleven, and other big banks..... I haven't tried Citibank and Shinsei Bank since both of those (ATM as well) are not in my city.... Does anyone know when we can use ATM with Maestro with EMV chip again?

Although the mastercard site indicates that maestro-branded cards with EMV chips issued from Canada are now working, I tried one yesterday and it did not work. What a pain in the a$$. Why don't banks in Japan get in tune with the rest of the world?

I've been emailing Mastercard to try and find out if they have an anticipated date to get this sorted out -- no response yet, except to say that they are working on it. I mentioned that there are a number of international students and travelers that are in dire situations because of this issue and that there hasn't been much press about it but the online forums are starting to buzz about it. Doesn't hurt to put some pressure on them. :)

Why don't banks in Japan get in tune with the rest of the world?

Ironically, that seems to be the cause of the outage. They are apparently upgrading the atm systems to work with Mastercard EMV chipped cards.

Same situation here. Solved the problem temporarily with a western union transfer (since I needed to pay my rent), but now I'm really counting every yen I spend.

What iritates me is not the whole suspension of the cards though but the total lack of information from mastercards side. I don't think it's fair for their clients