Barclays Connect Card

NiKRuLeZ

Hi, iv been informed that Barclays are no longer issuing VISA Electron Cards. The two types of Connect cards that Barclays are now issuing are:

"Connect - Over 18's, Cheque Gaurantee. - Requires credit scoring to get."

"Connect (Electronic) - 11+, No cheque Gaurantee. - No credit score needed."

Apparently both type of cards allow an overdraft facility. So why does a cheque guarantee card need to be credit checked??

Also what does the 'Electronic' mean as its a VISA card, not a Electron card.

Also apart from that, are there any other differences between the 2 cards?

Thanks alot for y'all help!!

Kilty_2

Okay, so my information is based on what Lloyds TSB offer but I assume it's the same at Barclays. (Lloyds also do not issue Visa Electron, but two Visa Debit cards instead).

The Cheque Guarantee card allows you to draw cheques at £100 each, guaranteed to clear. This means that you could have a £2500 unauthorised overdraft at any time so they credit check you to see what your history is like, if you've defaulted etc they'll consider you high risk and not offer this.

The "electronic" card is also called a 2 in 1 card because it does not have a cheque guarantee function (so the element of risk with cheques is not present here - hence the lack of a credit check).

Where possible, funds are checked for availability before a transaction is processed, just like Visa Electron. Since it's a Visa Debit card though, if the authorisation facility is not available or the retailer has a floor limit, the transaction will go through anyway - that's why you can possibly go into overdraft with one of these cards. AFAIK they will never be issued on an account with an authorised overdraft facility though I may be wrong.

Electronic Visa Debit cards previously didn't work with self service train ticket machines but a previous thread on here indicates that this problem is being dealt with .

If you don't want to use cheques in shops (which is becoming harder anyway), there is no real difference.

NiKRuLeZ

Thanks that was some what helpful!, any Barclays customers care to comment! thanks guys!

smithja

I thought it was like LTSB's too but since you have said they told you "electronic"there is a Visa card that is not branded Electron, simply called "unembossed visa", for "electronic use only". They look just like Electron cards. which as you probably know also say for electronic use only. Will try and find a link. I wonder if anyone has one from Barclay's, can say if there card without the cheque guarantee facility is an unembossed card. They are to stop people using them in countries that are still use the old imprinter or were systems go down in the UK and they revert to the imprinter, which they are not allowed to take" unembossed visa" on, if they just write the card number on the slip, even if they get authorisation over the phone it can still be returned. James

smithja

here a link to a pdf document about unembossed visa card (you can find many more through Google), that are not called electron, but really there is no difference in the way the transaction is handled I think they are trying to remove the electron branding as it gives a two tier system were people feel like they are second class citizens as they cannot use the card in all visa outlets. The unembossed card will work everywhere that takes visa, not just visa electron (electron is a separate set of card numbers from other visa cards).<a href="http://www.irnpayment.com/files/unembossed-0927-v2.pdfJames&quot; target="_blank">http://www.irnpayment.com/files/unembossed-0927-v2.pdf

BONJOEY

i told my friend this who has an electron and she said she lost the card , so a replacment one was sent only last week and it was still an electron.....

from barclays website it says....

If you're an existing customer and want to upgrade to a Connect card, contact your local branch (debit cards are subject to status).

smithja

Does it defintely say Electron on it i.e. the old symbol or the new one with the word Electron under it, or is it just unembossed like an Electron card, but only says Visa? James
Edit: this link shows all of their different types of cards http://merchants.visa.com/accepting/pdfs/POS_acceptance_guide.pdf

System

I think there is some confusion.

They are simply Visa Debit cards that have an intruction in both the Chip and Magnetic Strip to seek authorisation when used. In this respect, they are the same as Electron cards.

Where they differ from Electron is that they can be used in old style 'roll over' machines, but these are being phased out and they require the shops to call up and manually get authorisation over the phone for more than small amounts.

Over the phone, and internet retailers always have to get authorisation - Visa Debit or Electron.

The Cheque Guarantee function is not really a great loss.

mattcoker

hey i was wondering if i can use it on amazon?

book12

mattcoker wrote: »

hey i was wondering if i can use it on amazon?

Yes, you can.

Amme

NiKRuLeZ wrote: »

Hi, iv been informed that Barclays are no longer issuing VISA Electron Cards. The two types of Connect cards that Barclays are now issuing are:

"Connect - Over 18's, Cheque Gaurantee. - Requires credit scoring to get."

"Connect (Electronic) - 11+, No cheque Gaurantee. - No credit score needed."

Apparently both type of cards allow an overdraft facility. So why does a cheque guarantee card need to be credit checked??

Also what does the 'Electronic' mean as its a VISA card, not a Electron card.

Also apart from that, are there any other differences between the 2 cards?

Thanks alot for y'all help!!

Barclays dont issue connect cards anymore, they are Contactless Visa Debit cards.