Citi Bank Magic

Life is unpredictable. So it is said.

On a cruise at Hanoi bay I was having a whale of a time on the topdeck, sipping the best of cocktails, playing with the little umbrella, the deck swaying to the waves slapping the sides of the tourist yacht. Then came the tailspin. I felt my pocket to take out my wallet and realised I had lost it while I had been frolicking around and chatting with fellow travellers.

I felt like Robinson Crusoe, shipwrecked on an island a few thousand miles away from home. I had no clue where I had left the wallet. Panic-stricken, I asked everyone on board, the crew members, the stewardess, the deck incharge. But there was no wallet to be found. I had to catch a connecting flight to Ho Chi Minh city and luckily for me I had paid my hotel bills and a taxi had been booked and pre-paid for the drive to Hanoi airport.

I called up my Relationship Manager Tarun Dhinga and Branch Manager Amit Aggarwal in Delhi. This was a “May Day” message. I was advised to visit the Citi Bank Branch in Sun Wah Tower at Ho Chi Minh City and they would be able to give me emergency cash after I showed them my passport and gave them my account number. My nerves settled down, my heartbeats lowered, I took a deep breath. Wow, was it that simple?

Next I searched around to locate my passport and found it in the travel bag. I slept peacefully that night. Reached Ho Chi Minh city the next morning and took a scooter directly to the Citi Bank branch. I was welcomed by Luu Nguyen Anh Khoa, the Relationship Manager. After I explained my predicament to her she quickly took charge of the situation.

Then it was a matter of 10 minutes. I only had to fill a simple form, give copies of my passport. After a few quick telephonic checks and one e-mail sent from my Delhi branch, I had cash in my hand, the entire amount in the local currency.

All in no time as I leisurely sipped a hot and delicious coffee and chatted with Luu in the Citigold lounge. I loved the coffee, I loved Luu, I loved Ho Chi Minh city and most of all, I loved the ease with which Citi Bank’s Delhi branch had liaised with their Ho Chi Minh counterparts that I, a total newcomer in a strange city was coming to seek crucial assistance from them.

Travelling the world at that time looked so easy. I became an even firm believer in the concept that the “world is a village.” I did some recording and took some photographs in celebration of this major event during my travelthon. This was something that I definitely had to share on my blog. So watch the video and see the Citi Bank Magic unfold.

It proves that some things in life are predictable, like a replacement of your lost Citi Bank card.