Smile.co.uk Debit card starting 4988

hate-banks

Hi peeps,

I have a full current account at Smile.co.uk (the cooperative's online bank). Great customer service btw!

It is an Offline card as I can pay my train fare with it, but the card systematically checks my balance prior to authorising the transaction.

I thought Offline cards were all FULL AUTH??

Does anybody have a 4988XXXXXXX card from Smile? If so, can you tell me, if it checks your balance for every single transaction??

If my card is not a FULL AUTH, is it something that can be asked to the bank?

thnx guys.

Olipro

A lot of banks are provisioning cards now so that every time you do an online-auth transaction, it will get updated with a specific amount up to which offline auth will be permitted (based on the total funds in your account) - obviously if you were to do a card transaction that did live auth, empty your account via internet banking and subsequently use the card for an offline auth transaction, you'd end up going overdrawn; if you think something like this is liable to happen to you then you can of course ask the bank to put a zero limit on your card but whether or not they can actually do this for you is a technical matter.

pwuk

hate-banks wrote: »

Hi peeps,

I have a full current account at Smile.co.uk (the cooperative's online bank). Great customer service btw!

Hi,

Slightly off-topic but can you provide a bit more information on Smile and what is so good about them plus any bad points - I need a backup account and have been considering them.

I welcome any comments you might have.

Thanks

coolesticeking

Offline Transactions will only happen 'Offline' if it's below the retailers Floor Limit.

If it's above this, it will always go Online regardless if the Card is Offline or Full Auth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floor_limit

Olipro

actually it works both ways; the transaction must be below both the merchant's floor limit and the cardholder's.

coolesticeking

To my understanding, a Cardholder does not have a Floor Limit - Used to have a Cheque Guarantee Limit but that is about it.

Also a Credit Limit for Credit Cards - The card only contains the code either to always go Online for Auth or Offline type of card and if the card can be used outside its home country.

Hoof_Hearted

I banked with Smile for years. Great bank all round. No problems ever with them. Only left because their interest rates are so poor. I still have a current account in which I keep a small amount. The 4988 card does not check balance. It works just like a credit card for me.

hate-banks

Thank you all for your answers.

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

I banked with Smile for years. Great bank all round. No problems ever with them. Only left because their interest rates are so poor. I still have a current account in which I keep a small amount. The 4988 card does not check balance. It works just like a credit card for me.

Well, this is interesting, cause mine does and by the penny I might add! So apparently the bank "configure" their cards a certain way before sending them to the customers.... Mine really works like an electron in a way that for instance if I have £20 on my account and try to buy something that costs £20.01 it will be declined! I'll call them and ask why I don't have a card like yours.

pwuk wrote: »

Hi,

Slightly off-topic but can you provide a bit more information on Smile and what is so good about them plus any bad points - I need a backup account and have been considering them.
I welcome any comments you might have.
Thanks

Well, I just opened an account at Barclays for instance and already I have spotted 2 negative things compared to the Smile account:

- At Smile, customer service is open 24/7! And I'm not talking about a useless automatic service, I mean real people.

- Their customer service has been rated the best in the UK for several years and I can tell you that they ARE really good! They listen to you, they are very professional and most important, when they don't know something, they don't lie to you and give you a stupid answer, they go and find the answer.
The private message system online is also great. I always receive a reply within 24hrs.

- It might not be important to you, but when I put cash on my account via any Post Office branch, the money can be seen and used on my account litterally immediately. I read the T&C of Barclays and it says it's takes 2 working days for them!

- Although it is a stricly online bank (they don't have branches at all), you can still use a Cooperative Bank branch to put a cheque on your account or anyhting else. But I've always send a cheque to them by mail to be credited on my account, and it was always on my account within 3 days.

- Because it's an online bank, they have a really good internet banking! They do do maintenance but it's always during the night and I don't remember not being able to access my account online even once since I've been banking with them, back in 2008.

If you have any particular questions, don't hesitate to ask.

rockitup

hate-banks wrote: »

Well, I just opened an account at Barclays for isntance and already I have spotted 2 negative things compared to the Smile account:

Commiserations on opening an account with Barclays

Olipro

coolesticeking wrote: »

To my understanding, a Cardholder does not have a Floor Limit - Used to have a Cheque Guarantee Limit but that is about it.

Also a Credit Limit for Credit Cards - The card only contains the code either to always go Online for Auth or Offline type of card and if the card can be used outside its home country.

nope, cards can now be updated on-the-fly during each and every online transaction for anything from adjusting risk parameters through to updating the on-card application(s).

hate-banks

@Olipro: does it mean the reason my card has to check the balance of the account before authorizing the purchase is because Smile thinks every single of my transactions are risky? Can they parameter my card to tell it "this guy is risky so you have to behave as an electron all the time"? Cause see, a guy above says his card (which is the same as mine) works more like a credit card and does not check account balance prior to authorizing purchases and I'm wondering why mine is working the same way.
thnx