Electron being phased out?

7sefton

I've had a Cardcash account with Halifax for years. Even though it hasn't got any money in it, I've kept it open because I can use the Visa Electron function to save money when booking EasyJet flights.

However, I've noticed that fewer and fewer banks now offer Electron cards and am wondering if they are going to be phased out sometime soon in favour of standard Visa Debit cards?

stclair

With technology of today they can chip normal visa debit cards etc to ensure you dont go overdrawn etc so there no real need for electron.

Halifax & Bank of Scotland will be the only bank I can think of still offering them at present.

It would not surprise me if they dont ditch visa elctron soon now there part of the lloyds banking group.

As lloyds TSB offer an online visa debit on there basic bank accounts etc.

PROLIANT

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay!:j

hippey

Electron will be phased out / rebranded as Visa Debit (or Visa Pay Now) in the future.

Electron has see it's day and has been around for some time now, acceptance was patchy and although it's much better with most retailers authorising on-line now it still causes issues. However the full auth Visa Debit cards are causing some problems as previously it was easy for a retailer to say they don't accept Electron, but now it's awkward when the Visa card is accepted but some cards fail.

HannahIOW

Yes I believe Electron is being phased out. I also had a CardCash with the Halifax for years, when I popped into a branch to give them my new address details they said it is being phased out. I now have a card which says 'Visa Debit' on it.

Toe-Jam

HannahIOW wrote: »

Yes I believe Electron is being phased out. I also had a CardCash with the Halifax for years, when I popped into a branch to give them my new address details they said it is being phased out. I now have a card which says 'Visa Debit' on it.

Electron is not being phased out by Halifax. You got a visa debit because they discontinued the cashcard account, and customers were either moved to a Current account, which has visa debit, or the easycash account which has visa electron depending on account conduct and credit score.

Toe-Jam

hippey wrote: »

Electron will be phased out / rebranded as Visa Debit (or Visa Pay Now) in the future.

Electron has see it's day and has been around for some time now, acceptance was patchy and although it's much better with most retailers authorising on-line now it still causes issues. However the full auth Visa Debit cards are causing some problems as previously it was easy for a retailer to say they don't accept Electron, but now it's awkward when the Visa card is accepted but some cards fail.

Its true its being used less in the UK, but it remains the one of the biggest debit card brand worldwide most banks in spain and france issue only visa electron, same in UAE

7sefton

hippey wrote: »

Electron will be phased out / rebranded as Visa Debit (or Visa Pay Now) in the future.

Electron has see it's day and has been around for some time now, acceptance was patchy and although it's much better with most retailers authorising on-line now it still causes issues. However the full auth Visa Debit cards are causing some problems as previously it was easy for a retailer to say they don't accept Electron, but now it's awkward when the Visa card is accepted but some cards fail.

I'm a bit confused. If the Electron facility on my card cash account was replaced with a Visa Debit facility, would this be exactly the same type of card that I get with my full current account at HSBC (i.e. the way it is processed, the places that accept it)? I thought the whole point of Electron was that it was for people who didn't want to be allowed to go overdrawn?

If you could just explain the differences (if any) I'd be very grateful :beer:

Toe-Jam

7sefton wrote: »

I'm a bit confused. If the Electron facility on my card cash account was replaced with a Visa Debit facility, would this be exactly the same type of card that I get with my full current account at HSBC (i.e. the way it is processed, the places that accept it)? I thought the whole point of Electron was that it was for people who didn't want to be allowed to go overdrawn?

If you could just explain the differences (if any) I'd be very grateful :beer:

It will look exactly the same as the type of card you get with your full account the first 4 numbers may be different. However it will not have cheque guarentee facility. The card is programmed to look for authorisation every time its used to stop people going over drawn, which is where it differs from the normal card.

If the card can't connect with hsbc for clearance, then it just declines. such as pay at pump and trains and planes

hippey

Toe-Jam wrote: »

Its true its being used less in the UK, but it remains the one of the biggest debit card brand worldwide most banks in spain and france issue only visa electron, same in UAE

I was assuming this is a UK board, it is entirely upto the bank which version of card they use. There are markets in other countries that still widely accept Visa Electron and for technical reasons will continue for some time.

But a bit like V Pay some market have it some don't, the UK does not issue V Pay yet, they may in the future, but PayWave seems to be the way forward in the UK & the US. Where I can use my ExpressPay card in McD's! I don't think any McD's in the UK has gone contactless yet?

jambosans

Toe-Jam wrote: »

Electron is not being phased out by Halifax. You got a visa debit because they discontinued the cashcard account, and customers were either moved to a Current account, which has visa debit, or the easycash account which has visa electron depending on account conduct and credit score.

The Cardcash account still exists, it is simply not available to new custom. Existing Cardcash accounts have not been migrated to the Easycash or a current account. As recently as November of last year HBOS updated the charging structure on the Cardcash to mirror the Easycash, which highlights the account is still in use.

The Cardcash has served different purposes over the years (e.g. historically it could carry an overdraft and cheque book). The current incarnation is marketed towards 16 and 17 year olds, see below:-
http://www.halifax.co.uk/bankaccounts/cardcash.asp

That said, it doesn't serve any special purpose in it's current form, as the Easycash is available to anyone 16+. So I would imagine that HBOS (or Lloyds TSB) will retire it completely from existing custom eventually.

HannahIOW wrote:

Yes I believe Electron is being phased out. I also had a CardCash with the Halifax for years, when I popped into a branch to give them my new address details they said it is being phased out. I now have a card which says 'Visa Debit' on it.

It's not being phased out yet, but I'd imagine over time, as other posters have suggested, they will adopt 'online' Visa Debit Cards, similar to the card offered with the Lloyds TSB Cash Account. I would guess you have perhaps opened a new current account to have received a Visa Debit Card - it may have not been made clear at the time, staff will often use the term "upgrade", when in actual fact you're opening a completely new/ separate account. Visa Debit cards are not issued with Cardcash accounts.