On 04-Mar-12 02:56, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 14:49:32 on Sat, 3 Mar 2012,
Stephen Sprunk remarked:
Why would they care if it's a gift card? A card is a card; as long as
the transaction is authorized, that's all that matters.

That's the big "if". There are many ticket vending machines, and
portable machines, which are simply not "online", so they can't
authorise at all.

Then the merchant is taking a risk on each transaction, regardless of
the card type.

There's always a small risk, and sometimes the ticket vendor will make a
[mobile] phone call if a particular cardholder raises suspicions.

If mobile service is available, why not just authorize every card and
avoid the risk of being sued for discrimination--which will cost far,
far more (even if you win) than losing the occasional fare?

Oh right, you have a functional legal system, unlike the US...

But as we don't have these faux-credit-card gift cards here,

Gift cards are simply the most obvious example of the problem; it goes
much deeper than that.

and people with credit cards and bank accounts that allow overdrafts
usually do pay these off, the only class where there's a serious worry
is the no-overdraft debit card holders.

Some of our debit cards allow overdraft, while others don't; that is an
option by the account holder. There is no way to know by looking at the
card number whether it does.

Also, many Americans have maxed out their credit cards as well, so
there's no guarantee _those_ charges will go through either.

Unless you authorize the card, you simply don't know. That is, after
all, the entire purpose of authorization.

Given the cheap and ubiquitous mobile data networks, there is no excuse
for not being able to do online authorization.

They aren't cheap and ubiquitous enough. In particular, the equipment
would need replacing (not just simple upgrading).

It gets replaced every few years anyway, and the cost of adding mobile
data to them should be trivial.

I don't believe data
networks are ubiquitous in the USA either, if the very spotty mobile
phone coverage more than a few miles from major cities and highways is
anything to go by.

The main problem in the US is multiple incompatible networks, and it
should be better overseas where everyone uses GSM. Still, US mobile
coverage is pretty good; even a decade ago 96% of the US population was
covered, and nearly all Interstate highways are. Rural areas and lesser
highways are being covered rapidly, as would rail lines if a non-trivial
amount of passenger traffic existed.

S

--
Stephen Sprunk "God does not play dice." --Albert Einstein
CCIE #3723 "God is an inveterate gambler, and He throws the
K5SSS dice at every possible opportunity." --Stephen Hawking