Re: Today's Priceless Supermarket Moment

"Bob Myers" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Not in my experience. Every debit card I've ever had
looked like a standard Visa or MasterCard, with the
possible exception of the word "debit" appearing somewhere
on the face (not all had this). They are/were usable anywhere
the credit card of the same name was usable.

True. Perhaps she's thinking of ATM cards, which can be
used in some stores, certainly the supermarket.

nancy

Nancy Young said:

"Bob Myers" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Not in my experience. Every debit card I've ever had
looked like a standard Visa or MasterCard, with the
possible exception of the word "debit" appearing somewhere
on the face (not all had this). They are/were usable anywhere
the credit card of the same name was usable.

Quoted message said:

True. Perhaps she's thinking of ATM cards, which can be
used in some stores, certainly the supermarket.

Our debit cards are usable in the ATM as well as in almost any store. In
fact, about the only place you *can't* use them is some coffee shops
(which only take cash to speed up service) and the kind of small temporary
craft fair that doesn't have the technology. They were usable in grocery
stores and liquor stores when credit cards were not allowed, so they
always were more widely useable than credit cards. Being completely
untied to credit cards, they can be used in a store that only
accepts MasterCard, even if the bank that issues them also issues Visa.
Unlike credit cards and like ATM cards, debit cards are used to take
money directly from your account. And although the banks that issue them
also issue credit cards, they appear to make every effort to distinguish
them from credit cards, because they are always in a different colour and
design.

--
Cheryl

"Cheryl Perkins" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

always were more widely useable than credit cards. Being completely
untied to credit cards, they can be used in a store that only
accepts MasterCard, even if the bank that issues them also issues Visa.

MasterCard/Visa ... I don't think there is a difference. As a matter of
fact, my credit card company changed my Visa to a Mastercard for some
reason of their own, you can still use them interchangably. Doesn't matter
if the store says just one. Not in my experience, anyway.

Quoted message said:

Unlike credit cards and like ATM cards, debit cards are used to take
money directly from your account.

Yes. Debit.

Quoted message said:

And although the banks that issue them
also issue credit cards, they appear to make every effort to distinguish
them from credit cards, because they are always in a different colour and
design.

Often credit cards are set up to act as debit cards, either way.

I prefer to keep my credit cards and my checking account
separate, but that's me.

nancy

"Cheryl Perkins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

'Debit' is different in the US & Canada, too, as far as I can tell. A
debit card in Canada is much more widely used than in the US, both
geographically and in businesses within an area, and is completely
separate from a credit card. I get the impression that in the US, with so
many banks, each bank's debit card may only be used with a limited number
of businesses in a limited area, particularly if it is from a smaller
bank.

Not in my experience. Every debit card I've ever had
looked like a standard Visa or MasterCard, with the
possible exception of the word "debit" appearing somewhere
on the face (not all had this). They are/were usable anywhere
the credit card of the same name was usable.

Bob M.

Quoted message said:

I haven't used a cheque anywhere in quite a while. Maybe over a year.. I
can't quite remember.

--
Cheryl

Only thing we use checks for are taxes and medical bills. If we could pay
on-line those two things, it'd be a lot sweeter.

We set up all of F-I-L's bills that way, too. But he still has to pay the
taxes and medical bills. Perhaps those are the two bills you really want to
look over before paying, so it's probably not such a bad thing.
Dee Dee

Dee Randall said:

Quoted message said:

I haven't used a cheque anywhere in quite a while. Maybe over a
year.. I can't quite remember.

Quoted message said:

Only thing we use checks for are taxes and medical bills. If we
could pay on-line those two things, it'd be a lot sweeter.

I can pay taxes on-line in Missouri, but not by credit card. I could
also use the on-line bill paying system from my bank to pay that if
desired.

Brian

--
If televison's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who
won't shut up.
-- Dorothy Gambrell (http://catandgirl.com)

"Default User" <[email hidden]> hitched up their panties and
posted news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Dee Randall said:

Quoted message said:

I haven't used a cheque anywhere in quite a while. Maybe over a
year.. I can't quite remember.

Quoted message said:

Only thing we use checks for are taxes and medical bills. If we
could pay on-line those two things, it'd be a lot sweeter.

I can pay taxes on-line in Missouri, but not by credit card. I could
also use the on-line bill paying system from my bank to pay that if
desired.

Brian

Brian, Almost all of my finances are done online these days. I love it. I
never carry my checkbook, just my debit card and a couple of credit cards.
I do online bill pay from my bank's website. Whoever thought up the debit
card is a God/Goddess.

Michael

--
"The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she
served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been
found."

--Calvin Trillin

Bob Myers said:

"Cheryl Perkins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

'Debit' is different in the US & Canada, too, as far as I can tell. A
debit card in Canada is much more widely used than in the US, both
geographically and in businesses within an area, and is completely
separate from a credit card. I get the impression that in the US, with so
many banks, each bank's debit card may only be used with a limited number
of businesses in a limited area, particularly if it is from a smaller
bank.

Not in my experience. Every debit card I've ever had
looked like a standard Visa or MasterCard, with the
possible exception of the word "debit" appearing somewhere
on the face (not all had this). They are/were usable anywhere
the credit card of the same name was usable.

Yes, I've never had any problem with my Indiana bank's debit card, used it
all over including the web a lot.

What confuses me is that with this card, which says Debit Mastercard, I
was sometimes asked to enter 'credit card' into the machine -- I think so
I could sign it rather than use my pin number which I wasn't sure of at
the time.

Doug
--
Doug Weller --
Doug & Helen's Dogs http://www.dougandhelen.com
A Director and Moderator of The Hall of Ma'at http://www.hallofmaat.com
Doug's Archaeology Site: http://www.ramtops.co.uk

Cheryl Perkins said:

'Debit' is different in the US & Canada, too, as far as I can tell. A
debit card in Canada is much more widely used than in the US, both
geographically and in businesses within an area, and is completely
separate from a credit card. I get the impression that in the US, with so
many banks, each bank's debit card may only be used with a limited number
of businesses in a limited area, particularly if it is from a smaller
bank.

A debit card take the money directly from your checking account and
requires a pin number.

A credit card charges the amount to your credit account and requires a
signiture.

A check card takes the money from your checking account, but is treated
in the store like a credit card by using a signature.

All 3 are very popular here in the US.

I have never heard of a debit card being good only in a local area.
There are some stores that offer credit accounts, and that card is only
good at that store, but I have no idea what you are referring to. I
have used my debit card in Mexico while traveling as well as other
states in the US.

Now, as for Canada, there definitely is a difference. When I go to
Canada, my card will not work in the ATM machines, and I can only use
the checkcard option. The cashier told me that debit cards are separate
from check/credit cards, so the machine goes with credit as default. I
have tried to get a plain old debit card to use while in Canada, but my
bank won't give me one. So, I had to make sure I had cash in advance
for small local transactions. And I was stuck with my check card for
the rest (no cash back). I have since gotten an account with my
sister's bank (for other reasons), and her card always worked in the
ATM machine, so at least I can get cash back during a trip in the
future.

As for checks, they are still quite popular here. Not as much as they
used to be, we still take in a lot, and we haven't allowed cash back
from checks for over 4 years now. We still get a few customer
complaints about that. Some stores in the same change allow $10 back,
but our store does not.