visa electron + visa debit

Energize · 30 Jun 2008 at 12:30

Jez said:
Why do people use debit cards anyway? What is the point? Using a credit card you are totally protected, have complete control over what items you pay on the bill by taking issue before payment of the statement, and often benefit from cashbeack features or other goodies.

Cant fathom why anyone would use a debit card :/

Perhaps if you aren't able to get a credit card? You don't have any extra protection with a credit card for orders under £100 either, so why go to the hassle of paying off your card, when you can have the money taken directly from your account? Some places also give you a discount for cash or debit card payments because they are cheaper to process. Also if you need to make a payment greater than your credit limit then you can only use a debit card.

matthew_o50 · 30 Jun 2008 at 12:33

When I used my Visa Electron I found many places that wouldn't accept it online but most shops were fine. Visa Debit is accepted everywhere practically.

I work in a shop and Visa Debits require authorisation so you can't spend over what's in your bank/overdraft - it simply gets declined if there's not enough.

Jez · 30 Jun 2008 at 12:41

Energize said:
Perhaps if you aren't able to get a credit card? You don't have any extra protection with a credit card for orders under £100 either, so why go to the hassle of paying off your card, when you can have the money taken directly from your account? Some places also give you a discount for cash or debit card payments because they are cheaper to process. Also if you need to make a payment greater than your credit limit then you can only use a debit card.

My credit card issuer will seeminlgy remove anything i please from the bill, there is nothing in the paperwork which mentions a £100 minimum protection threshold. Be interested to see where this has come from (genuinely, not saying you are wrong

)

Never had an issue with credit limits, thats a valid point, at a guess you would have to have done something silly in the past in order to be unable to get a decent limit, though?

The discount thing is an issue at some places, such as auction houses where i buy my stock and hence use a debit card, but ive never ever seen a discount for debit in shops?

Energize · 30 Jun 2008 at 13:09

Jez said:
My credit card issuer will seeminlgy remove anything i please from the bill, there is nothing in the paperwork which mentions a £100 minimum protection threshold. Be interested to see where this has come from (genuinely, not saying you are wrong )

The £100 is from the consumer credit act. Banks don't need to offer default protection for anything under £100.

Never had an issue with credit limits, thats a valid point, at a guess you would have to have done something silly in the past in order to be unable to get a decent limit, though?

Well that depends. As a student mine is £1,000, which as you might imagine could be a problem when trying to buy more expensive items.

The discount thing is an issue at some places, such as auction houses where i buy my stock and hence use a debit card, but ive never ever seen a discount for debit in shops?

You need to do some haggling then.

You can get discounts for cash or debit (for higher priced items) if you try. It's also more common in other countries. Debit cards can also have cashback.

OllyM · 30 Jun 2008 at 13:13

Energize said:
Debit cards can also have cashback.

They can? The only account that offered that was the Halifax Moneyback account, which has been discontinued for new customers and they're switching people who have it to the standard account in the next few months. No surprise when they make absolutely nothing from debit card transactions considering a retailer is charged ~10-20p.

dowie · 30 Jun 2008 at 13:13

Jez said:
Never had an issue with credit limits, thats a valid point, at a guess you would have to have done something silly in the past in order to be unable to get a decent limit, though?

There is a fairly simple work around tbh... (I spent a summer working for a card firm too) if you have an insufficient credit limit and the card company won't increase it then you can overpay the card. then you can still make the purchase on the card and get the reward points, interest free loan, extra protection etc... i.e. student wants to spend £1500 on computer parts but has a 1 grand limit - makes a payment of £500 to his card, makes the purchase, gets £10 of reward points, takes advantage of his interest free period on the 1 grand and if the shop he buys the parts from goes bust he is still covered.

As far as Debit vs Credit is concerned people really ought to have both tbh... it would be sensible to make most purchases on a credit card (especially large ones online) but a debit card is still useful where you want to get cashback at the till, where places charge more for credit cards and certainly for drawing cash out.

OllyM · 30 Jun 2008 at 13:15

Oh and the only place where I use my Maestro card is in Costco. Everywhere else, I use a credit card.

pitchfork · 30 Jun 2008 at 13:23

Jez said:
Why do people use debit cards anyway? What is the point? Using a credit card you are totally protected, have complete control over what items you pay on the bill by taking issue before payment of the statement, and often benefit from cashbeack features or other goodies.

Cant fathom why anyone would use a debit card :/

Because I can't be bothered to fanny about using a credit card to pay for everything. theres also the risk I might get charged interest should my bank make an error, then i have to chase that up.
It's a whole lot of effort for what? A bit of extra protection? I don't plan on being stupid with my card like some people "oh my pin number is written on the card" kind of people.

Plus my credit card doesn't allow for cashback (I asked for that specifically, why would I want cash on credit when i've got loads sat in my bank account), the credit card is just because I can I will.

I mean what real benefits are you going to be getting from using a credit card, bit of extra protection, pay for some stuff and leave the rest to perish at a high rate of interest? Debit card, money comes straight from your account, you pay for it instantly. So I don't get how you can't understand why people use debit cards.

Fraggr · 30 Jun 2008 at 13:41

By using a credit card you will build up your credit rating. I plan to get one and use it for everything as soon as I turn 18. I'm not an idiot, so I won't be one of the people who doesn't pay the bills.

OllyM · 30 Jun 2008 at 13:43

pitchfork said:
Because I can't be bothered to fanny about using a credit card to pay for everything. theres also the risk I might get charged interest should my bank make an error, then i have to chase that up.
It's a whole lot of effort for what? A bit of extra protection? I don't plan on being stupid with my card like some people "oh my pin number is written on the card" kind of people.

Plus my credit card doesn't allow for cashback (I asked for that specifically, why would I want cash on credit when i've got loads sat in my bank account), the credit card is just because I can I will.

I mean what real benefits are you going to be getting from using a credit card, bit of extra protection, pay for some stuff and leave the rest to perish at a high rate of interest? Debit card, money comes straight from your account, you pay for it instantly. So I don't get how you can't understand why people use debit cards.

You just don't get it do you?

If you use a debit card, you gain... nothing. If you use a credit card, you can often gain 1% cashback on all your purchases. Buy something for £100, get £1 back. Over a year, this mounts up. Set the card up to be paid in full by direct debit and you will never be charged interest, and pocket the cashback.

Rebelius · 30 Jun 2008 at 14:17

didn't read the whole thing, but there definitely are places that take Visa Debit but not Electron as I've got a debit and my flatmate has and electron. First place that comes to mind is Cineworld.

Jez · 30 Jun 2008 at 14:21

pitchfork said:
Because I can't be bothered to fanny about using a credit card to pay for everything. theres also the risk I might get charged interest should my bank make an error, then i have to chase that up.
It's a whole lot of effort for what? A bit of extra protection? I don't plan on being stupid with my card like some people "oh my pin number is written on the card" kind of people.

Plus my credit card doesn't allow for cashback (I asked for that specifically, why would I want cash on credit when i've got loads sat in my bank account), the credit card is just because I can I will.

I mean what real benefits are you going to be getting from using a credit card, bit of extra protection, pay for some stuff and leave the rest to perish at a high rate of interest? Debit card, money comes straight from your account, you pay for it instantly. So I don't get how you can't understand why people use debit cards.

Credit cards cost NOTHING and offer much better protection and other offers. If your credit card doesnt offer anything extra then change to a different one, the market is very competitive. I dont care how careful you are with your details, i know plenty of people who have had card issues who are extremely careful also. With a cerdit card you have zero risk, you simply dont pay for fraudulent transactions, you never lose the money. With debit on the other hand it can turn into a total nightmare of overdrawn current account's with interest being charged on your overdraft and bank charges on top for bounced fraudeulent transactions. The money will rarely if ever be refunded until the case is resolved, leaving you in a total state.

matthew_o50 · 30 Jun 2008 at 14:31

Credit Cards can be useful. I would only use mine for emergencies or if i'm making a large purchase to get the reward points. Occasionally i've taken it out shopping instead of my debit card and it's easy to forget how much you've spent and although I am very sensible with mine the bill can be a bit of a surprise when it comes sometimes!

I do like the cash back option on Debit cards though, especially if there's no cash machine around.

Energize · 30 Jun 2008 at 14:41

Jez said:
With a cerdit card you have zero risk, you simply dont pay for fraudulent transactions, you never lose the money.

With a debit card you are fully protected against fraud, the only extra protection you get with a credit card is default protection on orders over £100, the chance of that happening being less than nothing. I don't know where this idea that debit cards are risky has come from. The chance of going overdrawn is the same as the chance of forgetting you have a debt on the credit card which will then get interest charged on it, ie unless you are an idiot who doesn't check your bank balance it won't happen, and with electron and solo you can't go overdrawn anyway.

Debit cards and credit cards are pretty much interchangeable, neither is any better than the other really.

Jez · 30 Jun 2008 at 15:03

You are missing a huge problem. If you have an issue with debit card fraud and the card gets abused, the money will be debited from your account and you will have to mess around to get it back. During this period you will have no money available, may be lumbered with bank charges for bounced transactions which again you will have to mess around to get refunded, and may get charged interest on the OD.

With a credit card you simply receive a statement with a load of bogus stuff on it, phone them, and pay the reduced bill. No legwork your end, no inconvinence.

Energize · 30 Jun 2008 at 15:05

No, you just call, say your debit card was stolen on xxx day, and then the money is refunded. While you use your credit card to pay for stuff in the meanwhile.

Jez · 30 Jun 2008 at 15:07

It would be great if it went that smoothly and the money was instantly refunded, but in reality it doesnt work like that.

It also comes back to why, a credit card is completely free, so why not use it and get the cashback & extra protection?

Energize · 30 Jun 2008 at 15:09

Jez said:
It would be great if it went that smoothly and the money was instantly refunded, but in reality it doesnt work like that.

Hence why I said use your credit card to pay for stuff while the bank sorts it out. Exactly what my dad did when £100 was stolen. Though the chance of your account getting cleared is what, when the bank blocks suspicious transactions? Besides which, you'd be a fool to have any kind of money in your current account when it could be in a savings account. And you can ask the bank not to allow an overdraft so that situation will never happen.

It also comes back to why, a credit card is completely free, so why not use it and get the cashback & extra protection?

Not everyone can get a credit card, nor do they want to mess about moving money between main account and credit card for a negligible amount of cashback. Hence why I still use my debit card, it's just easier.

Hxc · 30 Jun 2008 at 15:10

Energize said:
No, you just call, say your debit card was stolen on xxx day, and then the money is refunded.

It isn't at all instant; it takes a significant time for the banks to be bothered to refund you.

Energize · 30 Jun 2008 at 15:12

Hxc said:
It isn't at all instant; it takes a significant time for the banks to be bothered to refund you.

Like I said twice now, you use a credit card in the meanwhile.