It's advisable to discuss this with your human resources manager before you leave to plan out a strategy. American bank cards lack a chip, now commonly used in many foreign countries, leading to acceptance problems at unattended kiosks and some smaller merchants. Many international travelers have reported getting their credit card declined at places like ticketing kiosks in train stations, parking garages, highway tolls and parking meters. This can be a real nuisance when you're living there like a local and conducting the same transactions as other residents. Therefore, it may make sense to open up an account with a local bank to obtain a chip payment card, also called an EMV chip card.

The other reason to have a chip card is to be able to use it without any inconvenience when traveling to neighboring countries. Twenty-two countries have embraced EMV cards and another 50 are in various stages of moving to them in the next two years, including China, India and Latin America.

See also, Are there countries where I'll have trouble using my credit or debit card?