Why is Barclaycard so special?

20aday

The shop where I work also shows Barclaycard Visa and Capital One on the terminal receipts (and also our EPOS).

The same information is shown for 'branded' credit cards like The Caravan Club.

Our Merchant Services were once operated by Barclays but it's no longer the case however this info is still displayed.

MEM62

DonDino wrote: »

Why is Barclaycard the only one whose name shows on the machines? How come they're so 'special'?

Maybe it is because the majority of card machines are, or at least until recently were, provided by Barclays Merchant Services.

DonDino

Wow! Thanks everyone for all the responses! This turned out to be a great history thread, very interesting information here.

I had a little read on Wikipedia and the links you've provided, Wiki confirms Barclaycard was the oldest one in the UK.

Re: my original question... I have held many many credit cards over the past 10 years or so (now I only have 2), used them extensively, and I can remember that the only card that ever showed its name on the machines was Barclaycard.
I've never held a Cap1 or one of those other branded ones some of you mention, only standard Bank ones, and some not so standard (e.g. Marbles back in its hey day).

Just to say that I can see 'Barclaycard' on practically every machine, as they are all different brands I don't think they are all issued by Barclays Merchant Services (I've seen it on machines I know were on HSBC services).

It was mentioned that the name that shows on the machine is encoded on the chip. Why don't other card issuers do the same I wonder.

With regards to Barclaycard being special today... I am not sure it isn't. Mine has got a 6.9% APR, which is extremely hard to come by these days. It's got a very usable and appealing web system and the app is very good too - probably a better design than most other banks' or card companies apps. It was also one of the first cards in the UK, if I remember correctly, to feature contactless (it was definitely the first contactless card I ever owned).
And it also has a nice card design (I don't know if people pay attention to this, but with credit cards all offering pretty much the same stuff nowadays, it's become a factor for me :rotfl:).

username

simongregson wrote: »

Capital one shows as Cap1 Visa. It is what is coded on the chip as the application name.

Indeed - and the reason for the variation of what shows up is that it's purely down to how the software on the POS system has been configured to display or print it.

It either reads from the application label on the card or generic name from its own database (Visa Debit/Credit etc). Sometimes receipts or screens show both or either.

HSBC debit/credit cards have the application label programmed as just "Visa" with no distinction between debit or credit.

Barclays used to have their debit cards labelled as "Connect Debit".