DeniseV, they charge you that much money for a credit card, too… at least in theory.
The transaction, as far as the company is concerned, is the same. They request approval for $x (300 for Enterprise). Even if the final rental charge would only be $24, they request the same amount of money. If your credit card is close to maxed out it will fail, too. Even if it isn’t, that’s $300 worth of credit unavailable.
I’ve been pretty screwed because of that on business trips. I wish I had a company card.
The idea is that with a Visa/MasterCard check card, you can use it anywhere in the world that takes Visa or MC, whereas debit card networks tend either to be more local or charge users a fee.
The real difference is for the merchant. If my shopkeeper friend Jay processes a purchase using Visa or MasterCard, he pays about 2% of the total as a fee. If he processes the same transaction using a traditional, pin-code debit card, it costs about 17 cents regardless of how big the transaction is. That’s why banks are trying to encourage people to use the Visa/MC check cards and sign for it - they make more money. I have a Citibank card like this that gives me miles only if I use the card through the MasterCard system - if I use my pin, I get no miles.
This whole thing is subject to a massive lawsuit against Visa and MasterCard, alleging that they illegally colluded to boost their own cards and drive their pin-code competition out of business. For more on that, see here. I’ve seen damages estimates in the $40 billion range.
Exactly - and more specifically, the merchant only has to be able to process credit cards, whether by swiping it through a machine or manually imprinting a carbon. No need for a debit card machine.
Well, I write checks on a fairly regular basis. When I first started writing them, it was annoying, because people are psycho about checking ID because of course college students have no idea how to manage their money…I hate that stereotype and it definitely doesn’t describe me. But now that I’m older, I have no trouble writing checks. (Although getting a personal check cashed is another story…)
And I paid by check in Manhattan stores on a trip a year or so ago.
Magickly, who won’t carry large amounts of cash on her person while traveling.
Barbarian, the US doesn’t have a “universal” debit network like Interac. The banking system is fundamentally different from Canada; they have thousands of banks, from tiny single institutions on up. We, OTOH, have just a few monolithic banks, who all bought into Interac’s network fairly early on. Visa and Mastercard have leveraged their wide availability to fill the role that Interac took here (and, of course, there’s the advantage that they’re international). There are also a bunch of smaller, mostly regional networks that link together several banks.
Cheques [checks] are also far more prevalent in the US than here.
Trust me, the people in line behind you and the cashier in front of you hate your check-writing ass. No offense and all, but even if you’re a good done-your-prepwork-just-need-the-amount check write (and even remembered where you’re standing, what date it is, and who you are) we still hate you. Sorry.
Around here (metro boston area) getting clearance to write a check to a merchant is a monumental task. For example, supermarkets will generally not take them at all unless you’ve signed up for their “savings” card and they’ve been able to run a credit check on you and put a lien on your firstborn child, vacuum cleaner and cat.
I have almost gotten into fights with people who wanted to write checks in the supermarket express isle. Also when comparing 2 lines that look like they have about the same amount of people I sometimes ask if anyone plans to pay by check and then go to the other line.
I’m thinking this is a regional and/or generational thing. I didn’t know people still used checks to buy things. Really - I don’t think I’ve seen that in years. I wouldn’t assume stores still take them. I just remembered a time a few years ago when for some reason, I didn’t have any plastic with me but I had my checkbook. They didn’t take the actual check - they took the number and ran it through the machine, then I signed a receipt, just like with a credit card.
I thought that the debit system went universal years ago.
That’s the crux of the issue for me (besides the fact that I love my debit card, and I can see all my checking transactions online anyway). I’m a guy, don’t carry a purse, don’t normally wear a sportsjacket or suit jacket, don’t wear outer garments in summertime. There’s no convenient way to have checks with me when I’m out.
There was a rant a few weeks back about those silly women who all write checks compulsively. It was intelligently pointed out that it’s women who carry purses, and thus can carry checkbooks conveniently.
If the check-printing companies were smart, they’d make square folding checkbooks the size of a man’s wallet. But it’s a moot point. Checks are on their way out; sorry check-lovers, get used to it. Prepare to receive your implant.
I’m a check writer but on the few occasions when I forget to fill them out before I even enter the store, I do it before I get in line or while waiting in line. I used my debit card a couple of times and I found that I can fill in the two remaining blanks more quickly than it takes for the debit card to be approved. Of course I’m the exception and most people shouldn’t be allowed to write checks for the reasons everyone has mentioned.
All you need is your little tiny debit card and your PIN number memorized. You could hide this in the bottom of your shoe if you wanted. And you don`t need ID if you know your PIN. Handsdown winner here!!!
I wouldn’t have a check card. Carrying something around that allows any stranger to empty out your bank account doesn’t strike me as being very smart.
Unlike credit cards, you are liable for anything your check card is used for unless you report it immediately. Since there are plenty of ways to charge things without a signature (and many clerks don’t bother to check the signature against that on the card), you can be wiped out before you realized you lost it. And even if you report it, you’re often liable for the first $50 (you’re off the hook for a stolen credit card).
It’s taken immediately from your account, so if you pay for a service and it’s not rendered, you have no recourse. With a credit card, you can dispute the charges; with a check, you can stop payment. With a debit card, you’re up the creek.
The main reason the damn things are offered is that banks can make a profit on them; they get nothing if you write a check, but a percentage if you use a check card. And, of course, they don’t have to eat the losses of a stolen credit card.
Check cards are a disaster waiting to happen. Write the check, or charge it and pay it off the next month.
It sounds like it is a regional thing, I guess if I ever visit the crowded impatient NE coast I wouldn’t think of writing a check anyway. And in less populated areas of the country, they may still accept out of towners’ checks. But local checks in and around my area are always accepted with proper ID or all pertinent info on the check itself.
What I don’t like about using the debit card as a credit is I cannot get cash back at the grocery store. If I write a check I can write it for $20 over. If its a debit I can get cash back but my bank is charging a small fee for using it as a debit anywhere but at their ATM’s, which are miles away from where I live and shop.
On average I use the card much more than write out a check which does seem like an ancient cumbersome practice.
So, for us non-US types, you’re saying that a “check card” is a debit card that uses the same payment mechanism as a credit card… and thus can be used with only a signature, not requiring a PIN and the immediate verification of funds available?
Yike! The possibilities of abuse are dismaying.
On the other hand, I’ve often wanted something somewhat like this for online purchases–I do not qualify at the moment for a normal credit card.
But what I’d like is a prepaid card that uses the credit-card payment mechanism. You top it up, then go online to buy your stuff. Your bank account is safe, and you can use the prepaid card until it runs out of money.
This would be different from a secured credit card, where, although you provide a lump sum equal to your desired lending limit, you still incur a debt as you use it…
