Santander Debit Card. "Electronic use only"?

Mr_LoL

Hi. I have a Santander everyday current account. On the back of the card it says "Electronic use only". What does this mean? Its just I am going to America in 2 weeks and this card will be back up for my credit cards and prepaid us dollar travel card. SO I need to make sure it works everywhere.
Thank you

epm-84

Basically you've got a basic Visa Debit card where a transaction can only take place if the money is confirmed as in your account first. Trying to purchase something on a plane, for instance, would not be possible with an online use only card.

ses6jwg

It's also known as VISA DEBIT MFC ONLINE within the bank.

Basically as has been said, for most transactions the card needs to "report back" to the bank to authorise the transaction and sometimes therefore it won't work for example on planes, trains or some pay at pump machines.

Plxply

ses6jwg wrote: »

Basically as has been said, for most transactions the card needs to "report back" to the bank to authorise the transaction and sometimes therefore it won't work for example on planes, trains or some pay at pump machines.

It isn't most, it's always. An online card must always go online or else the transaction will be declined, you may encounter problems where the merchant doesn't have a connection to their acquirer. You also won't be able to use a good ol' zip-zap transaction, although I've yet to find anywhere that actually still does it.

Toe-Jam

Your card will work fine in America, However it is quite expensive to use a Santander Debit card abroad, unless you have a Zero Current Account.

Mr_LoL

Thanks. Its only backup so I'm not too worried. Do Santander do any other Debit cards? If they do how do you go about getting one?

scott_lithgows

Mr_LoL wrote: »

Thanks. Its only backup so I'm not too worried. Do Santander do any other Debit cards? If they do how do you go about getting one?

You really shouldnt put all your eggs in one Spanish basket case

andrew-the-cat

The Santandar "electronic use only" debit card is stupid. I have never had any other type of card from them, I actually opened an account with another bank in order to get a different card.

I tried using my card at a pay@pump once, it didn't work. It also wouldn't work at Kwik Fit as they didn't accept Electron for some crazy reason. One time when I was shopping in Morrisons and their chip and pin system was completely down, they were using the old school zip-zap machines, I couldn't pay by that and I had to walk to a cash machine to get some money.

Thankfully now I'm with a real bank I have a debit card which works on everything.

Rafter

Never tried using one in the USA but I would be cautious. A lot of places we still signed for stuff (no chip and pin).

However, sounds like you already have multiple backups (credit cards and your travel money card) so you should be fine.

It should work in an ATM. Best thing to do would be to try and confirm this with Santander though before you go. Worth advising your credit card companies that you will be travelling too - otherwise you might find your cards blocked for fraud protection reasons.

Have a good trip

R

SantEmp

andrew-the-cat wrote: »

The Santandar "electronic use only" debit card is stupid. I have never had any other type of card from them, I actually opened an account with another bank in order to get a different card.

I tried using my card at a pay@pump once, it didn't work. It also wouldn't work at Kwik Fit as they didn't accept Electron for some crazy reason. One time when I was shopping in Morrisons and their chip and pin system was completely down, they were using the old school zip-zap machines, I couldn't pay by that and I had to walk to a cash machine to get some money.

Thankfully now I'm with a real bank I have a debit card which works on everything.

We have DEBIT MFC and DEBIT MFC ONLINE cards, the latter is used for people with lesser credit scores and that makes sense if you think about it. If a customer has a history of adverse credit then would you let them pay for something potentially very expensive without checking they can afford it first?

You can apply in branch to get the MFC card, most people get it if you've got more than six months without any charges or adverse history.

System

The USA has not adopted chip and pin so you would (as all Visa card holders) sign unless they don't require a signature.

The electronic Visa Debit will be accepted at the same kind of retailers as here and will also work with some gas stations where you pre-enter the value of fuel you want before filling or pay at the kiosk.

The restrictions will be the same as here with Zip-zap machines and terminals that can't authorise your payment.

FYI - when in the USA always select 'Credit' when asked as their 'Debit' system runs via various different systems.

Rafter wrote: »

Never tried using one in the USA but I would be cautious. A lot of places we still signed for stuff (no chip and pin).

However, sounds like you already have multiple backups (credit cards and your travel money card) so you should be fine.

It should work in an ATM. Best thing to do would be to try and confirm this with Santander though before you go. Worth advising your credit card companies that you will be travelling too - otherwise you might find your cards blocked for fraud protection reasons.

Have a good trip

R