Because it’s convenient, I like to use my bank (USBank) Visa checking card for most purchases. Slide the card, punch in my PIN and I’m on my way.
But my bank and now Visa seem all hot for me to select credit rather than debit when I slide the card, which requires my signature rather than entering the PIN. My bank offers a bonus for all “credit” purchases on my checking card, and Visa’s got some contest going, too, to encourage people to hit the “credit” button rather than “debit.”
I assume selecting credit would still deduct the amount from my checking acount, but I’ve been a little suspicious.
So, what’s behind all this? Any friendly bank tellers want to fill me in, or is this an Illuminati plot, too?
So, if I want to increase costs for the grocery or hardware store, I should hit the credit button?
'Course, the means that if enough of us choose this option, the store will raise its prices to pay for the increase costs from credit transactions, thus negating the bonus I get for choosing credit instead of debit, unless of course, the store wants to offer me a bonus for selecting debit.
Retailers are countering by updating their EFT software so that it doesn’t ask you to choose debit or credit - it works out whether the card is a debit card and submits the transaction that way automatically.
Huh? I’ve never been charged a fee for using a debit card and I use my everywhere that’ll take a debit card.
Anyway, from an end-user standpoint, the only difference between the two is that debit transactions are debited immediately from my checking account, whle credit ones usually take 2-4 days to hit my account - good for when I’m low on funds near payday!
YES, at my store, we get charged more for running credit. When someone doesn’t care which way we run it, I’ll usually do it as credit. Much easier on us to. Don’t have to worry about matching signatures etc…
[QUOTE] Originally posted by gazpacho
** Chubbs, What stores do that? I use my debit card all the time at various super markets without and extra charge. **
From the places that I’ve been it MAY automatically run my checkcard as a debit card but usually when it asks for a PIN I just hit CANCEL then CREDIT and it goes through as a credit. Sometimes I have to hand it to the cashier to run it as credit. Either way if I don’t have the option of running it as a debit card I won’t even use it. I’ll pick a different (credit) card or (what I actually have done before) leave with out my purchases. If they won’t let my run it as a credit card, fine, but I’m not going to worry about having any bank fees becuase of it. That’s the cost of doing bussiness, not the cost of shopping.
Visa\Mastercard charges the store $0.75 for every credit transaction processed by their network. That’s why they so actively encourge you to use the card as a credit.
If you don’t use it as a credit they don’t get no money.
It totally depends on the individual bank’s policy (there are also some varying state laws). Here in NY banks generally charge anywhere from $1 to $2.50 to use a different system’s ATM (and that’s essentially what you’re doing when you use a debit card at a store). Visa only charges me 30¢ per transaction so I always choose credit.
To be clear, choosing ‘credit’ with a debit card in no way incurs any credit card debt. The money still just comes out of your bank account.
