Why is bypassing the PIN on a debit card something you can do? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of having a PIN to begin with?
In: 7068
Its also cheaper for the merchant if you enter your pin, The merchants transaction fee will be marginally more if you “bypass pin”.
A debit card is actually two types of cards at the same time, it’s a debit card and a credit card. You need to use your pin for the debit transaction but for credit, in the US, there is no PIN and you can just swipe/insert.
There’s a liability transfer for fraud and a big difference in how the payment is processed, even if it’s invisible to the consumer.
Side note: STOP USING YOUR DEBIT CARD. Get any credit card with anything you want for rewards. Your debit card exposes your bank account and any fraud takes YOUR money. Wouldn’t you rather be spending the banks money and have them figure out the fraud(credit)than need to ask politely for them to give back(debit)? There are many more consumer protections on credit accounts than debit accounts.
You can’t bypass the PIN in the EU since years ago (except for small-amount transactions; i.e. contactless payments). Is this still a thing in the US? I agree it defeats the purpose of having a PIN to begin with. Not surprised to hear the US lags behind in technology though, as in the US even checks are still commonly used, while here they became obsolete at least 30+ years ago.
You can’t bypass the PIN in the EU since years ago (except for small-amount transactions; i.e. contactless payments). Is this still a thing in the US? I agree it defeats the purpose of having a PIN to begin with. Not surprised to hear the US lags behind in technology though, as in the US even checks are still commonly used, while here they became obsolete at least 30+ years ago.
Its also cheaper for the merchant if you enter your pin, The merchants transaction fee will be marginally more if you “bypass pin”.
I understand and agree with the liability issues but in answer to the original question, I use my debit/credit card to pay for gas at the pump. If I use the credit option, I am charged four to ten cents more per gallon. I I use my debit option, I am charged cash price. Not as safe perhaps.
You can’t bypass the PIN in the EU since years ago (except for small-amount transactions; i.e. contactless payments). Is this still a thing in the US? I agree it defeats the purpose of having a PIN to begin with. Not surprised to hear the US lags behind in technology though, as in the US even checks are still commonly used, while here they became obsolete at least 30+ years ago.
I understand and agree with the liability issues but in answer to the original question, I use my debit/credit card to pay for gas at the pump. If I use the credit option, I am charged four to ten cents more per gallon. I I use my debit option, I am charged cash price. Not as safe perhaps.
Its also cheaper for the merchant if you enter your pin, The merchants transaction fee will be marginally more if you “bypass pin”.
The PIN is used to authenticate you, the customer, to the vendor. Alternatively, they can ask you to sign the receipt to confirm your authenticity. The problem is the PIN is almost never required, and most places don’t even require a signed receipt anymore. In a case of fraud, this becomes their problem. It’s a risk they’re accepting to preserve your experience as the customer in their store.
Latest Answers