Spending…. Card or cash?

[Charles4515]

 

That has happened. My cards have instant alerts when a charge is made so I don't worry about that. What is tricky is that restaurants can add tips later. Never had an issue where the server added the wrong amount but I always keep the receipts. I wish we did have terminals brought to the table like they have elsewhere but it is what it is. 

[Charles4515]

8 hours ago, wowzz said:

When even our local pub here in the UK has a hand held terminal,  you do wonder why the US is so behind the times  when it comes to credit card technology.  

Its not as if the terminals are expensive.

 

The cost adds up. Merchants cna be very bottem line. A few still have swipe terminals in the US. Don't even want to spend the money for a chip terminal. Gas stations have only recently switched to chip.

Edited November 27, 2021 by Charles4515

[the penguins]

7 hours ago, Kristal Blade said:

We have a no fee card from Halifax. Still working on holiday insurance as we have a medical issue to get cover for. Also need to renew a passport!

 

And now there is a new variant of Covid. Will the fun never stop?

We find the Nationwide Flex Plus account is great value. The monthly fee is mainly covered by the car breakdown cover that we took off our car insurance. We are both over 70 with various medical conditions. Have had a number of claims all settled with no hassle and no increase in the premiums. Unlimited number of worldwide trips per year and easy to extend the trip limit from the standard 30 days - we have done 90 days on one trip. 

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, mjkacmom said:

Who knows, but it’s a thing. I have a checkbook that still gets used occasionally. I just received a refund from a medical center for overpayment, it’s probably no more than $15, it’s in the form of a debit card I need to activate. So annoying, I’d rather get a check.

 

Verizon sent me a refund on a Visa debit card. If they sent me a check it would have been easier to deposit it with my mobile bank app. For that matter they could have refunded  it back to my credit card like other merchants have done. The debit card refund is annoying.. 

[wowzz]

32 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Merchants cna be very bottem line

Surely that is the same the world over ? It still doesn't explain the US antipathy to modern credit card technology.

[Charles4515]

1 minute ago, wowzz said:

Surely that is the same the world over ? It still doesn't explain the US antipathy to modern credit card technology.

 

It does explain it. It is all about the costs. The chip technology initiialy came about because merchents in Europe were not connected to the banks. The chip terminals stored the transactions on the terminal and they were forwarded later. In the US the terminals were connected by landline to the bank and a card could be declined right away. 

[ilikeanswers]

5 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

Verizon sent me a refund on a Visa debit card. If they sent me a check it would have been easier to deposit it with my mobile bank app. For that matter they could have refunded  it back to my credit card like other merchants have done. The debit card refund is annoying.. 

 

I'm curious what do you mean by refund on a debit card? Why do you need to deposit a debit card refund? Why doesn't it go straight to your transaction account? 

Edited November 27, 2021 by ilikeanswers

[iancal]

5 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

 

The cost adds up. Merchants cna be very bottem line. A few still have swipe terminals in the US. Don't even want to spend the money for a chip terminal. Gas stations have only recently switched to chip.

It is not simply an expense item.  It is also an expense avoidance issue.

 

Procedures such as chip/pin technology and customers paying at remote or hard wired terminals vs having the card  is a fraud deterrent measure.  Not to mention a customer sat issue.  Especially for those of us who, in the past, have had our cards compromised.

 

That is...until the black hats figure out a way to beat it.  Then the white hats will bring in some other measure.

Edited November 27, 2021 by iancal

[lissie]

6 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

Who knows, but it’s a thing. I have a checkbook that still gets used occasionally. I just received a refund from a medical center for overpayment, it’s probably no more than $15, it’s in the form of a debit card I need to activate. So annoying, I’d rather get a check.

A check would just be a souvenir in New Zealand (and many other countries) - banks no longer issue them or accept them. 

 

Why on earth did they not just refund back to either your card or direct to your bank account?? Faster and fraud proof - and cheaper for them.  

 

I have to run a virtual US bank account via wise.com because I sell on Amazon and they only way Amazon can pay in NZ is via a cheque which obviously I can't cash.  Its really beyond belief that arguably one of the worlds largest online companies cant pay electronically into my bank account 

[ilikeanswers]

5 hours ago, wowzz said:

Surely that is the same the world over ? It still doesn't explain the US antipathy to modern credit card technology.

 

In the USA it is normal to hand over your card so I don't really see a need for hand held terminals if anything it is probably easier for the waitstaff as they don't have to go get the terminal and return to the table to do payments. In Australia we usually go where our card goes which means a trip to the payment terminal with the waitstaff. So a hand held terminal is more useful in that circumstance as a restaurant won't end up with a line of customers waiting to pay at the terminal. We can now do what the USA does and stay at our table when processing CC payments😂. I think it is just a cultural difference that makes some technologies not really as useful for some places. 

Edited November 27, 2021 by ilikeanswers

[iancal]

We have used one cheque in the past 18 months.   Before that...four years ago when the mover wanted cash or a cheque.

 

DW included it in a wedding card.   I had to hunt all over to find the cheque book.

[wowzz]

9 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

In the USA it is normal to hand over your card so I don't really see a need for hand held terminals if anything it is probably easier for the waitstaff as they don't have to go get the terminal and return to the table to do payments. In Australia we usually go where our card goes which means a trip to the payment terminal with the waitstaff. So a hand held terminal is more useful in that circumstance as a restaurant won't end up with a line of customers waiting to pay at the terminal. We can now do what the USA does and stay at our table when processing CC payments😂. I think it is just a cultural difference that makes some technologies not really as useful for some places. 

The issue is that if you let someone take your credit card away from you, and if subsequently the card is used illegally,  you are held responsible  for charges incurred on your card. 

So, when I am in the US, I go with my CC. There is no way that I am letting a complete stranger out of my sight with my credit card.

[ilikeanswers]

32 minutes ago, wowzz said:

The issue is that if you let someone take your credit card away from you, and if subsequently the card is used illegally,  you are held responsible  for charges incurred on your card. 

So, when I am in the US, I go with my CC. There is no way that I am letting a complete stranger out of my sight with my credit card.

 

It is the same in Australia, why I try to stick cash when paying in USA restaurants. Unfortunately "it is USA custom" would not be an acceptable excuse to my CC companies😂. Maybe USA card companies are more forgiving🤔? 

[Charles4515]

2 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I'm curious what do you mean by refund on a debit card? Why do you need to deposit a debit card refund? Why doesn't it go straight to your transaction account? 

 

They send a plastic Visa debit card with the refund amount on it. I don't know why they don't go straight to my transaction account. It is a mystery to me.

[ilikeanswers]

1 hour ago, lissie said:

A check would just be a souvenir in New Zealand (and many other countries) - banks no longer issue them or accept them. 

 

Why on earth did they not just refund back to either your card or direct to your bank account?? Faster and fraud proof - and cheaper for them.  

 

I have to run a virtual US bank account via wise.com because I sell on Amazon and they only way Amazon can pay in NZ is via a cheque which obviously I can't cash.  Its really beyond belief that arguably one of the worlds largest online companies cant pay electronically into my bank account 

 

Wow NZ is way ahead of Australia. We can still cash checks but they are far and few between. I remember two years ago my dad had to return a device under warranty for replacement. They sent him a cheque for the postage cost and when I saw it I wondered if it was real😂. 

Edited November 28, 2021 by ilikeanswers

[ilikeanswers]

12 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

They send a plastic Visa debit card with the refund amount on it. I don't know why they don't go straight to my transaction account. It is a mystery to me.

 

I think we have something like that in Australia but they are usually used like gift cards. I have never heard of anyone being legitimately paid in them except for scammers who trick people into thinking they have a debt and demand payment in prepaid Visa cards😳. 

Edited November 28, 2021 by ilikeanswers

[Charles4515]

44 minutes ago, wowzz said:

The issue is that if you let someone take your credit card away from you, and if subsequently the card is used illegally,  you are held responsible  for charges incurred on your card. 

So, when I am in the US, I go with my CC. There is no way that I am letting a complete stranger out of my sight with my credit card.

 

In the USA we are not responsible for illegal charges. Merchants used to not be resposnible either which explans why they saw no reason to obtain Chip terminals. The issuers ate the cost of all fraud. A few years ago ithat was changed so that only fraud on a non chip card could be a cost to the merchant so they have been converting to chip readers. Gas stations had until April 2021 to get chip readers. So that is why adaption of chip was slow. Merchents had no liability.until a few years ago. Consumers is the USA have no liability. If there is a fraudulent charge I call up and they take it off. So while a fraudulent charge is annoying I don't lose any sleep over it. They can take my card away from me. i won't be responsible for the charges. 

[Catlover54]

22 hours ago, lissie said:

Bloody hell really? Glad you mentioned it - because I  am usually quite relaxed on holidays but  I've not let my card out of my sight for years!  This is just a total recipe for fraud 

 

It is indeed. This is one reason we pay cash in sketchy establishments  (if we must use such places, for whatever reason), or even in finer establishments if the server or salesperson looks sketchy (a judgment call). 

Some cabbies and shops also want cash, for extra "efforts", or their card machine is "broken" (this is one of many reasons I like Ueber or Lyft instead of taxis).  

It is also interesting how many things move from "no" or "unavailable" or "I'm booked"  to "can do" if regular cash is produced,cash they may or may not report taxes on, and things can  also get very strange when there are brownouts and blackouts, which are getting a bit more frequent.

 

However, with Covid, we have now started seeing the opposite in various places -- no paper money or coins allowed, cards for insertion or tapping only, and then the card variety accepted is extensive.

 

Most of the time tourists will be fine with cards in the U.S.,with or without tapping, and so will workers helping them as long as some cash is on hand for expected quick tips of bellhops and tour guides.  But I like to prepare for all contingencies to avoid headaches and panic and have flexibility -- learned the hard way .

[ldubs]

On 11/24/2021 at 11:58 PM, the penguins said:

We didn't know there was a protocol.

Also brought Katz Diner in New York to a halt by throwing away the ticket 🎟 we thought it was just for our place in the line not that we needed it to pay. Cashier refused to take our money until we found the ticket, manager went crazy as the line was blocking the whole restaurant. Cashier stood her ground saying she was doing what he had told her to do. Customers had been sitting at our table found the 🎟 screwed up on the floor, by which time the Manager had charged us $20 and asked us to leave.

Road Signs are also a problem. What on earth does "4 way stop" mean? The stop part is fine but then what happens? Yes we know now.

But the boss (Anita) loves "wrong way" so much better than our equivalent "no entry". Happy Travelling we love it.

 

 

"4 way stop"

 

in case of a tie, wave on the car to the right.

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, ldubs said:

 

 

"4 way stop"

 

in case of a tie, wave on the car to the right.

If only you had been with us in the car the first time we saw the sign it would have been great 👍 🤣. As we were the only car we stopped, waited a few seconds and carried on. When we arrived at our b and b we asked what we should have done and when they stopped laughing they explained. We know friends in the US have similar problems with our round a bouts. Just part of the joy of travelling. 

[mjkacmom]

14 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

I'm curious what do you mean by refund on a debit card? Why do you need to deposit a debit card refund? Why doesn't it go straight to your transaction account? 

I received an actual visa debit card in my name + customer refund. I had to activate it, and create a user name/password, plus a security question. A check in my name would’ve taken 20 seconds to deposit on my phone. I hate visa debit cards, I immediately used it to purchase an Amazon gift card on my account.

[ilikeanswers]

1 hour ago, mjkacmom said:

I received an actual visa debit card in my name + customer refund. I had to activate it, and create a user name/password, plus a security question. A check in my name would’ve taken 20 seconds to deposit on my phone. I hate visa debit cards, I immediately used it to purchase an Amazon gift card on my account.

 

That does sound very strange. As far as I am aware a company can't open an account on your behalf without your knowledge in Australia and you are not allowed to refund in gift cards so hopefully it should not be possible here. I certainly would not want that sort of payment taking off sounds painful and a little dodgy to me😂. 

[mjkacmom]

1 hour ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

That does sound very strange. As far as I am aware a company can't open an account on your behalf without your knowledge in Australia and you are not allowed to refund in gift cards so hopefully it should not be possible here. I certainly would not want that sort of payment taking off sounds painful and a little dodgy to me😂. 

It was a PITA, but it was legit, already spent it through Amazon. It’s from the Bank of America, prepaid visa. It’s from a local urgent care facility we used a lot with covid testing. Health insurance billing can be a mess here, I’ve stopped pretending to understand it and just pay what I’m billed.

[mjkacmom]

15 hours ago, lissie said:

A check would just be a souvenir in New Zealand (and many other countries) - banks no longer issue them or accept them. 

 

Why on earth did they not just refund back to either your card or direct to your bank account?? Faster and fraud proof - and cheaper for them.  

 

I have to run a virtual US bank account via wise.com because I sell on Amazon and they only way Amazon can pay in NZ is via a cheque which obviously I can't cash.  Its really beyond belief that arguably one of the worlds largest online companies cant pay electronically into my bank account 

Most likely because I paid the bill with a check (online banking, so I don’t fill out the check, my bank does). In the past they’ve mailed me a check back, so I’m guessing they can’t get it back into my bank electronically.

[ldubs]

16 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

I received an actual visa debit card in my name + customer refund. I had to activate it, and create a user name/password, plus a security question. A check in my name would’ve taken 20 seconds to deposit on my phone. I hate visa debit cards, I immediately used it to purchase an Amazon gift card on my account.

 

15 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

That does sound very strange. As far as I am aware a company can't open an account on your behalf without your knowledge in Australia and you are not allowed to refund in gift cards so hopefully it should not be possible here. I certainly would not want that sort of payment taking off sounds painful and a little dodgy to me😂. 

 

I've received debit cards for various rebate situations.  Rec'd checks too.  I didn't think the debit cards odd at all until I read these posts.   I agree, a check would be easier to process into my account.  The debit cards we typically use for grocery shopping or whatever until they are used up.