First direct chip and pin

mummytofour

I have a first direct account that has a solo card, I have been told by FD that they are not giving chip and pin on solo cards, yet I hear that as from Feb 14th chip and pin will be used everywhere and you will not be able to sign, only chip and pin? am confused!, so if anybody could advice me on this I would be most greatful!

M_Thomson

mummytofour wrote:

I have a first direct account that has a solo card, I have been told by FD that they are not giving chip and pin on solo cards, yet I hear that as from Feb 14th chip and pin will be used everywhere and you will not be able to sign, only chip and pin? am confused!, so if anybody could advice me on this I would be most greatful!

There is a lot of misunderstanding of the rules. There isn't really much change to what happens now. The basics are that if you have a chip and pin card after February 14 most retailers will insist that you use your pin. This is because the banks will hold retailers liable if a chip and pin card is used fraudulently and the retailer lets the cardholder sign. Chip and Signature and Signature only cards will also continue to be accepted after February 14 as well. In cases of fraud on these cards the bank not the retailer will be liable. There has been a lot of misinformation on this. The option to sign will have to remain for non chip and Pin cards for the forseeable future. There are people like yourself who do not have a chip and pin card in the UK, also tourists from non chip and pin countries like America and Australia will want to use their credit and debit cards in the UK. In the same way the option to sign will have to remain on UK Chip and Pin cards for when we go overseas to non chip and pin countries.

penrhyn

Why don't you ask them to change it for a Maestro Card (formally switch)
Never come across a solo card myself but have never found First Direct any less than very helpful and polite (and no I don't work for them).

Caped_Avenger

penrhyn wrote:

Why don't you ask them to change it for a Maestro Card (formally switch)
Never come across a solo card myself but have never found First Direct any less than very helpful and polite (and no I don't work for them).

penrhyn wrote:

Location: Long Eaton

Well, you'd have a long commute if you did!

Chip and PIN will not be used with Solo cards (for now at least), so don't worry about PIN day.

mummytofour

penrhyn wrote:

Why don't you ask them to change it for a Maestro Card (formally switch)
Never come across a solo card myself but have never found First Direct any less than very helpful and polite (and no I don't work for them).

Because I hate switch, I have in the past got myself into a lot of trouble by having a switch card as for whatever reason the amount takes longer to go out of the account than with solo. As the solo card is basically used as my spends account IE for anything that is not on DD its easier to know where I stand.

Rafter

mummytofour wrote:

Because I hate switch, I have in the past got myself into a lot of trouble by having a switch card as for whatever reason the amount takes longer to go out of the account than with solo. As the solo card is basically used as my spends account IE for anything that is not on DD its easier to know where I stand.

The reason being that solo only works with 'connected retailers' and works more like the cash machine network with the transaction being registered on your account immediately. It is also impossible to spend money on a solo card if your account is overdrawn.

With a Maestro card, unless it is a really big amount, the retailer won't bother checking you have enough funds or even process the transaction until the end of the day or after the weekend, so there can be some delay and you could end up being charged fees if the spend takes you overdrawn.

Sounds like solo is just right for you.

R.

penrhyn

Thanks for explaining the SOLO card rafter.

I find that getting weekly balances on my mobile help to keep me on track.