::In righteous outrage, whips Visa[sup]TM[/sup] Chakram[sup]TM[/sup] after the fleeing ENugent::
I have a question…
How do they know that it is a debit card you are trying to use? Aren’t you submitting a number, a name, and an expiration date either way?
The reason I ask is that for two years or more I conducted a lot of online purchases using my Visa debit card, since I didn’t have a true credit card. Some sites didn’t seem to care what kind of card it was. Other sites specified “no debit cards,” but I never had my debit card refused or a transaction to fail if I gave it a shot anyway. (I wasn’t trying to be a scofflaw, just figured if it were really a problem to use a debit card they would let me know in short order! 
)
It’s magic time…
Maeglin, while I will admit to occasionally being a fuck monkey, I am in no way pea-brained. However, you have shit for brains. I surmise you are so busy with oral sex that you may have pee on your brain. Fuck off. I know this is the Pit, but you didn’t say anything new.
For the rest of you in this spirited debate, thanks for being more civil.
As far as I can tell, the most common reason for kids to have such a card (posited first by Lynn Bodoni), was that you could buy things online. True, if they take the card (and they usually don’t, jeyen), but I personally prefer to know what my child might be buying off the Internet, because everything you can imagine is out there. It is not too hard for him to say “Dad, I want this”, which he does frequently. Then I put MY credit card in. Simple. I do not want him to have an open ended line at Napster, and you can bet that option will be coming in the near future, all paid with plastic.
Other than that, I can see a possible need for a debit card, with say, $75 on it to be used in emergencies only.
Don’t get me wrong, I you want you give your teen a Visa BUXX card and fund it with whatever you can afford, I don’t want to deny you that right and really don’t give a shit. As mentioned before, my problem basically IS with the commercial. Let’s recap it for those who may not have seen it, paraphrased:
Scene: Father sitting on couch with teenaged son who is concentrating on video game
Father: Son, we need to have a talk about financial responsibility. Blah blah, blah blah … blah blah Visa BUXX blah blah, blah blah … blah.
[Father leaves]
Teen: Geez, all he had to say was Visa BUXX!
Next scene: Teen buying CD or something with Visa BUXX. Smiles like “Shit this is easy!”
How the fuck does this teach responsibility???
Hey, Origato.
I haven’t seen the commercial, so I can’t comment on its annoyance factor.
But I wanted to clarify what I said before:
According to VisaBuxx themselves, you can use a VisaBuxx card “everywhere Visa is accepted”.
That means that VisaBuxx users can shop online anywhere that accepts traditional Visa cards.
So I have to disagree with your statement that sites don’t take these cards: If they take Visa, they’ll take VisaBuxx.
Also, the VisaBuxx site points out “Parents will be able to add money and monitor each account separately.”
That should alleviate your concerns about parents being able to monitor purchases.
Take a look when you get the chance.
The concerns you mention are already being addressed by the electronic-payments and teen-payments industries.
Please don’t discard the idea because of bad marketing.
[sub]Goddammit, I sound like I’m in marketing again. I’m not being true to my roots. Somebody stop me![/sub]
Jeyen
Origato,
I think all of your concerns are legitimate. I also have not yet seen the commercial, but if it’s anything like most commercials, it’s gonna be annoying. :rolleyes:
Anyway, I think it comes down to the different ways parents teach their kids. The commercial’s glibness aside, there are many different successful methods to raise a child, and what works for one will not always work for another. Glad to see you realize that while the commercial makes it look like the kid’s irresponsible, it is possible that parents can look pass that errant message and use the product itself rather wisely.
And, as jeyen said, if the site accepts Visa, it’ll accept VisaBuxx. Again, this isn’t a card for every kid, and there will be innumerable kids who - like the doofus in that commercial, apparently - will be reckless with it. But they can only be as reckless as the issuing parent allows, and that’s probably the best part.
When I read the FAQ section, it made me even more convinced of my position.
Here’s the link:
Some interesting points are raised here.
The Visa BUXX card can be used at an ATM.
So much for the “they can’t use the money for drugs” argument.
It IS possible to incur a negative balance on the card.
Possible, if the merchant doesn’t check the card’s limit. Unlikely in this day and time I will admit, but possible. And who do you think will be ultimately responsible? Correctamundo!
You can fund the card many ways, the parent’s Visa card being among them.
Ha, this is the best one. I bet they push this method hard when you’re signing up. “Oh, it’s so much easier” they will say. Yes, that all anyone needs, more debt with exorbitant interest that they will ultimately charge YOU, the parent!
As I said before, Visa, you can kiss my ass.
You know, it’s not as if they’re holding a gun to your head. Unless you have an unspeakably low amount of willpower, I cannot see how this is such a rotten, horrible, evil thing. If you feel so strongly about it, don’t get the darn thing. I don’t think VisaBuxx are any worse than regular credit cards, and I think that they’re better in some regards, as outlined in earlier posts.