I used (or rather attempted to use) my new Sofi card for a transaction. It declined and sent me an SMS asking if it was me. When I replied yes, it said I could do the transaction again. I did, and this time got asked for verification, either by a) an SMS number I no longer have, or b) email (which is right. The old number came about because I apparently joined SoFI in 2017) I chose b), got a code. The transaction was declined, repeated the process, got a new code, declined again. At that point I used my Citizens card, immediate success.
I had made sure on the app that the right SMS was listed (and Sofi was using it for 2FA) so I was suprised by the wrong one. I made the mistake of contacting SoFi.
I was transferred 3 times, each checking security and telling me to change it on the app (where the wrong number doesn't appear). The fourth transfer dropped the call. Called back, 2 more transfers, and finally they claim it is done. (Won't know till next dubious transaction). 90 minutes on holds with Fintech! I'm sure a boring old big bank would have taken, well, 10 minutes....
I also got mixed messages about why the transaction was declined after the verification codes "merchant couldn't match the three digits"? and "it was updated but timed out". Who knows!
Anyway, my usual shout out to Citizens, who approve all my foreign transactions even when they maybe shouldn't. Wrong name (mixture of mine and my daughters via autofill), wrong billing address etc, never fazes them. There really is an advantage to this in foreign transactions. Many of us on MyFico like issuers who quickly detect fraud. But, as we are not responsible, there is some advantage to being a little permissive (at least with some history). I have never had fraud on Citizens, so even though it's only 1.8%, unless SoFi starts working well, they will continue to be my goto for non category foreign spend.
