Anyone know about a flow limit (or similar)?

[Deleted User]

Hello all
Earlier today, brought some train tickets then account balance went to -£5.22 and i have no overdraft limit
Called bank up and they said its to do with the London Midland flow limit
Anyone can clarify on that?

I heard its something about the retailer not needing to authorise funds etc

Mikeyorks

The phrase used was 'floor limit'? It's a value below which the retailer doesn't need to get authorisation for a transaction.

zppp

vinh1000 wrote: »

Hello all
Earlier today, brought some train tickets then account balance went to -£5.22 and i have no overdraft limit
Called bank up and they said its to do with the London Midland flow limit
Anyone can clarify on that?

I heard its something about the retailer not needing to authorise funds etc

London Midland (the train company) will have a floor limit in place, because they use a mobile device and cannot attatch to an internet connection. Your PIn is stored on your card, so subject to you putting the right one in, it is likely to authorise the transaction.

pqrdef

An offline debit card, like a cheque guarantee card, indicates that the bank has in fact deemed you worthy of an overdraft before issuing the card, although they'll call it unarranged and charge accordingly.

This is a mixed blessing. It can result in a slew of charges when, if the card had been refused, you could simply have used another card.

[Deleted User]

cool thanks for help
gives me reassurance :P
good that the card is an offline one also

Olipro

most banks issue offline auth cards nowadays even for those on basic bank accounts; every time the card is used for an online transaction it gets updated by the bank with a new offline authorisation amount relative to the funds in your account (or the amount they will allow you for an unauthorised overdraft) - once that limit is "spent" or a transaction is over the limit, the card will require a terminal to go online or cancel the transaction.

Of course, where this can fail is for example: you take out £30 at a cash machine leaving £40 in your account, so your card is updated to allow up to £40 offline... later on however, you use internet/telephone banking to pay a relative £35 bringing your balance to £15 - next you use your card on a train to purchase a ticket for £25 which of course is below the limit but also offline so your card will still have £40 authed - in this instance, your account will go overdrawn.