In written and email correspondence, expat Barclaycard holders have been given a deadline to reply and provide proof of a UK address, or told the account will be closed.
It follows a similar move by the UK’s biggest credit card company in 2014, when around 39,000 expat customers who hadn’t used their cards in at least six months were contacted by Barclaycard.
In comments to The Portugal News, a spokesperson for Barclaycard confirmed their recent correspondence “is a new mailing and different from the previous one”.
“As you might expect, we regularly review our policies and have made changes to the list of countries in which customers can reside and hold an open personal credit card account.
“The full list of supported countries is now as follows: UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, BFPO), Australia, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Spain, and Jersey, the Isle of Man, Guernsey, Bermuda, Cayman Islands and Falklands Islands”.
Barclaycard added: “We value all our customers’ business but these required changes mean that now, cardholders must reside in either the UK or in one of the countries mentioned above where local laws allow for them to be serviced by a UK-based financial organisation. Unfortunately, Portugal is not included and we have gotten in touch with all affected customers to explain the changes and the options open to them”.
The prospect of losing their cards has left many expat customers angery at, and some even claim their card is already being declined.
Some have already voiced their annoyance on social media, with one affected cardholder resident in the Algarve saying the move will make it “much more difficult to buy gifts online to send to family in the UK”.