Co-op cashminder visa debit,is it worth changing

stickman

I too have a similar issue in that my co-op visa debit is still being classed as electron in some retail/on line outlets. I spoke to co-op who indeed said that they had simply rebadged the card to visa debit BUT then went on to say they kept the same BIN 4508 which still in some cases comes up as electron. They said it was up to the retailers to up date their system to take account of this change in card "type". When I asked why they did'ntjust give a visa debit BIN I was told that that number was for their current a/c holders and all the benefits that card gave ie no authorisation,cheque guarantee etc etc , these are not afforded those with basic cashminder a/c.
This brings me on to the AID (Application Id)

This is simply a reference on the chip, that must match that of the card reader before they can "talk" to each other.

The card reader will have a list of Aid numbers that it can do business with, when you stick your card into the machine it checks if your card belongs to a recognised card scheme by cross referencing the number on the chip with its list.

With reference to the co op card, the aid is electron, but has a visa debit label, but as electron is going to be in the list on the card machine, it works.

In places that don't accept electron, they omit the electron aid from their card machines/tills so when its swiped the machines says "your not on the list so we can't do business"

Positive Authorisation Mandatory Service Code.

The AID number has absolutely nothing to do with your card being online or offline. It is just there to make sure the equipment is singing off the same hymn sheet.

The only number that dictates whether your card is online or off is a PMC ( Positive Authorisation Mandatory Service Code. x0x for offline cards and x2x for online cards. There is no what of seeing that number its embedded in the chip.
X2X require authorisation. So could co-op just change/add the AID to their existing visa debit cards and use that BIN.
Thanks