On 05-Mar-12 13:14, Phil wrote:
Roland Perry writes:

There is no way to know by looking at the card number whether it does.

That's what we *could* do in the UK, by recognising a card as "Solo"
or "Electron". Now that they are branded as "VISA debit", it's
probably not possible to tell, although the cards are still incapable
(in theory) of pushing the bank account into overdraft. What we
haven't established in this conversation yet is how the banks achieve
that Indian Rope Trick if people buy something from (eg) a vending
machine that isn't online.

The machines in shops do know the card type, thats how the cashier
knows to ask if you want cashback or not (the machine prompts them).
They only ask if it is a debit card, not a credit card.

Really?

I deal with several merchants that have self-swipe terminals, and the
terminals ask _me_ if the card is debit or credit. If I press the
"credit" button, even when using my debit card, they do not ask for a
PIN or offer cash back. I've never tried pressing the "debit" button
when using my credit card since I can't remember the PIN.

Note that all (US) debit cards I've seen have the word "DEBIT" on their
face; I don't know if that's required in other countries as well. If
the cashier swipes the card for you, they _may_ be using that
information (and some ask the customer for the card type) to decide
whether to offer cash back.

In most cases, and it should be all, the cashier doesn't handle the
card and will not always see it before you put it into the machine.
Even then it will only be a glance.

Self-swipe is a relatively recent thing in the US. When I worked in
retail (at an electronics store), we had a fair number of cards come
back "PICK UP CARD", usually followed by the card thief running for the
exit. With self-swipe, the retailer can't be counted on to confiscate
the card--but perhaps that's not a major concern now that nearly all
merchants do online authorization.

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