David Lindon
Golden Master
- Messages
- 15,233
This always puzzles me when I visit the US and I pay by card, the cashier asks if it is credit or debit. Why? Surely the machine can work out for itself if the card is a credit or debit card?
Always happens here in Australia...you are asked for debit or credit as some cards can have linked accounts....common courtesy to you how you want to pay either by credit which can attract interest or debit which is cash from your bank account.
When I pay at the supermarket, the machine asks me what card it is.
I recall that MC starts off with a 5, Visa cards with a 4, AMEX with a 3 and Discover cards with a 6. I'm speculating that the number of digits and the starting numbers are factors in how the transaction gets processed.
This always puzzles me when I visit the US and I pay by card, the cashier asks if it is credit or debit. Why? Surely the machine can work out for itself if the card is a credit or debit card?
yeah that's trueI have a debit/credit card and get asked whether I want it submitted as a debit or a credit card. If I say debit, then I am asked for my pin number. If I say credit, I am asked to sign the transaction. In the end, it doesn't matter since either transaction results in money being taken from my checking account.
Many people mistakenly believe that if they don't have any money in their checking account they can tell the cashier to submit it as a credit card and it will somehow be charged to a credit account. This isn't true but it is a common belief.
You should only be asked debit or credit if you have a debit/credit card. If you present a credit card then the machine should be smart enough to figure that out. It's the cashier asking you credit or debit, not the machine.
The main reason why the dual type cards exist is that some places can only accept debit cards, others accept only credit cards while others accept both. The dual type card can be used in all of those establishments.