What's the deal with debit cards anyways?

[Tom Kitten]

I went to a store today and wanted to buy 13 dollars worth of stuff and the guy told me there was a 20 dollar minimum for cards...I said forget it then and he actually would not let me buy stuff from his rather empty of customers store!

I already know some gas stations (Arco) and convenience stores add a 50 cent surcharge for using a debit card, I thought there was a rule against this?

I'll just as soon go back to carrying cash before I allow myself to get charged for spending my own money!

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. Doesn't happen here. Probably payback for being a blue state.

[CanuckAmok]

2. they're not supposed to add a surcharge...report them.

But they can set any minimum sale they want.

[WindRavenX]

3. Debit cards are the only way to go

No way am I carying cash...

[Flammable Materials]

9. Only problem with debit cards ...

... is you leave a paper trail of every transaction you make.

Personally, though, I hardly ever carry cash. But there are a few occasions when I will forgo the debit card or "club discount card".

[politicat]

4. weird. Does not happen here.

We occasionally get a $5 or $7 minimum purchase, but that's all. $20? That's BS.

Pcat

[donheld]

7. Politicat is correct

i use my debit card all the time. I have seen a few places with a $5 dollar limit, but that's it.

[MarianJack]

5. My Soon to be Former bank...

...charges a dollar if you use it as a debit. If you use it as a credit, it doesn't, but some stores (I won't mention names, but the initials are w-a-l-m-a-r-t, where I stopped shopping months ago) don't let you put it through as credit if it's a debit!

[OldLeftieLawyer]

13. Mine, too

So I only use it as a credit card, and there's never a charge. Plus, I get all the protections of a VISA card, and none of the hassle.

It's the only way to go. The only way. I got rid of credit cards, and life is beautifully simple now.

[huellewig]

6. The margin on the shit they sell is so small...

They need to charge for the Visa and Mastercard fees they pay. The guy at the local market told me the pay about 15 cents per Visa transaction they make. And some people buy a candy bar for 65 cents with a Visa and the store actually loses money on the sale. $20 seems a bit over-the-top for a minimum but I understand the reasoning. I doubt they want to piss you off, but I would imagine we just don't understand the entire reason for their policies.

[dave420]

8. In Britain...

... we get minimum purchases in some shops, usually the smaller convenience stores. It's mostly unheard of in the larger shops.

I think the advent of debit cards shows the world that credit cards are now 100% useless. They only came into existence because people COULDN'T get to their own money in their accounts, and they provided an assurance from a company that the user was good for a certain amount, decided by how much money that person has/gets in their account.

Now, the credit card companies are giving people more money than they have in their bank accounts, just so they can keep them in their clutches. It's madness. If you don't use a credit card, you use your own money for purchases. You get to manage your money, not your debt.

Anyway. That's enough from me.

dave

[BlueCollar]

11. welcome aboard Dave420...

Glad to have you with us and I agree with your assesment of the credit card companies/banks...they have gotten out of control with some charging as high as 23% interest on revolving debt...absoloute madness

[OldLeftieLawyer]

15. Welcome, Dave

Not hardly enough from you. Your post was exactly - only better stated - what I said a few minutes ago.

Great line: "You get to manage your money, not your debt."

Welcome aboard, Dave. :toast:

[BlueCollar]

10. Thanks for bringing it up

My credit union does not charge a fee for using my debit card...also it does not charge me if I use it as a "credit card"...debit or credit is the same to them, but I know if it is used as a credit card a small fee is charged to visa...

I dumped banks in favour of credit unions ten years ago and haven't looked back. Using a debit card has also disciplined my spending habits also. I still carry a couple of credit cards for emergency purposes (hotels/car rentals etc but try to pay them off within two/three payments if they are too high.

[Kellanved]

12. The store has a bigger risk

A credit card is guaranteed, a debit card not.

At least in Europe, debit cards are far cheaper though; for a debit card transaction the store has to pay 0.5% + one call, for a credit card it is more like 5-10%.

[Az]

14. Its illegal for them to do that

They signed a contract that said they won't do that with the card companies. But because it costs them a fixed fee to run a card they will try to get away with it. Simply ask them if they signed that contract and that you can call the card company and verify. That should lite a fire under them. They certainly don't want to be without the ability to use cards.