Online / Offline /Full Auth - What does it all mean ?

MissKitten

I have read many, many posts on this board about the different card types issued by banks, and that some people call them online, offline, full Auth etc.

Now being a banking novice what card do I have in all these types ?.

My card is issued by the Halifax, starts with 4462, is a Visa Debit card, it is issued on my reward account it is contactless. What type of card does that make it ?. My best guess is what some posters refer to as a Visa Electron as it is contactless and therefore electronic ?.

JuicyJesus

"Online" or "full auth" cards require every single transaction to be authorised with the bank before it can go through. Note that this DOES NOT mean that it won't let you go overdrawn, that's still at their discretion.

"Offline" cards, meanwhile, do not necessarily need this. Shops can process transactions without checking with the bank first (although, in practise, most still do anyway since it costs very little.) If you've got a contactless card with one of the major banks, you have an offline card.

Visa Electron is an entirely different thing - a very restrictive online card, separate from Visa Debit, that nowadays is barely issued anywhere, if at all. It used to be issued with basic bank accounts and child accounts, and I think still is issued by Halifax - everyone else moved to issuing online Visa Debit cards. Very similar to the Solo scheme, which hasn't just stopped being issued, it's actually closed down entirely.

stclair

Yay we've not had a debit card thread for ages.

reclusive46

MissKitten wrote: »

I have read many, many posts on this board about the different card types issued by banks, and that some people call them online, offline, full Auth etc.

Now being a banking novice what card do I have in all these types ?.

My card is issued by the Halifax, starts with 4462, is a Visa Debit card, it is issued on my reward account it is contactless. What type of card does that make it ?. My best guess is what some posters refer to as a Visa Electron as it is contactless and therefore electronic ?.

I think you've misunderstood the last bit.

Your card is contactless and Halifax only issue contactless offline cards. So your card is offline (Which means it can be used without contacting the bank). There are no restrictions on it.

JuicyJesus

stclair wrote: »

Yay we've not had a debit card thread for ages.

I'm pleased to report as well that the Barclays telephone banking membership card is, after all, a pleasing shade of lilac.

dalesrider

MissKitten wrote: »

I have read many, many posts on this board about the different card types issued by banks, and that some people call them online, offline, full Auth etc.

There are only 2 types of cards.
Auth all.( some people refer to as Online) Which requires a connection to be made to the bank to ensure that the full funds are available. These are the cards that will not work at pay at the pump, as while these HAVE TO connect to the bank (zero floor limit), they only check the card is active. These tend to auth for £1 or £2.

The other type will work no matter what (some refer to as offline). The only issue is a retailer floor limit, if a connection cannot be made.

MissKitten wrote: »

My card is issued by the Halifax, starts with 4462, is a Visa Debit card,

It is numbers 5 & 6 that tell you what type of card you have.

MissKitten wrote: »

My best guess is what some posters refer to as a Visa Electron as it is contactless and therefore electronic ?.

Electron is a dead product now.
Contactless can be either Auth all or not. Depends on the provider.
02 prepay being one example of a auth all contactless. But it is fair to say most banks will only provide contactless on a full visa debit card and not a auth all card.

MissKitten

dalesrider wrote: »

There are only 2 types of cards.
Auth all.( some people refer to as Online) Which requires a connection to be made to the bank to ensure that the full funds are available. These are the cards that will not work at pay at the pump, as while these HAVE TO connect to the bank (zero floor limit), they only check the card is active. These tend to auth for £1 or £2.

The other type will work no matter what (some refer to as offline). The only issue is a retailer floor limit, if a connection cannot be made.



It is numbers 5 & 6 that tell you what type of card you have.



Electron is a dead product now.
Contactless can be either Auth all or not. Depends on the provider.
02 prepay being one example of a auth all contactless. But it is fair to say most banks will only provide contactless on a full visa debit card and not a auth all card.

First I would like to thank everyone who has replied as it has made it clearer for me, to give you a bit more information:

The card begins 4462 91 and before it was contactless it was a Cheque Guarantee Card as well.

My friend who banks with RBS and also has a Visa Debit card cannot use hers on the Train or at Pay at Pump, but I can use my Halifax card on the Train and at Pay at Pump.

When I have been with her in certain shops and if the spend is around £20 I just seem to enter my PIN number and it comes up REMOVE CARD, on hers it takes longer as if it is actually checking with her bank.

JuicyJesus

MissKitten wrote: »

When I have been with her in certain shops and if the spend is around £20 I just seem to enter my PIN number and it comes up REMOVE CARD, on hers it takes longer as if it is actually checking with her bank.

She has an online card, you have offline. It takes longer for hers since the terminal needs to contact her bank in order to process the transaction, while yours doesn't.

The flipside of this is that an offline card, because it doesn't necessarily authorise with the bank, may not reduce your available balance when you spend using it. So if you're paying for stuff and expecting it to just decline if you don't have enough money (which is a dangerous way to be anyway) you may be in for a shock, as well as overdraft fees.

reclusive46

Unless the transaction is contactless (And even then some cards still go online) pretty much every retailer does the transaction online anyway as they get charged extra interchange for offline transactions.

JuicyJesus

reclusive46 wrote: »

Unless the transaction is contactless (And even then some cards still go online) pretty much every retailer does the transaction online anyway as they get charged extra interchange for offline transactions.

The Co-op have been a stickler in my experience. Small-ish transactions don't get authorised online for some reason.

Chrisblue1962

MissKitten wrote: »

...My friend who banks with RBS and also has a Visa Debit card cannot use hers on the Train or at Pay at Pump, but I can use my Halifax card on the Train and at Pay at Pump.

Hi, may I ask which Halifax account you have ? Is it a basic bank accout?

My Co-op Cashminder card cannot be used at Pay-at-Pump or train stations , which is a minor irritation.