BMW dealer says card payments on their way out

Goldenyears

I was waiting to pay for a service at franchised dealer and advisor apologised for delay.  Of their three card machines one was out of action and wouldn't be replaced.  She said they may be phased out in future and only payment by smartphone was going to be possible. In our house we don't bank online, (although we do use express banking machine at local branch) so found this news a bit of a nuisance, if it happens.

eskbanker

Perhaps she meant that more people are using devices such as smart phones and watches instead of the actual cards, but these still entail authentication via the card terminal, so that shift doesn't eradicate the need for those.

DullGreyGuy

Goldenyears said:

I was waiting to pay for a service at franchised dealer and advisor apologised for delay.  Of their three card machines one was out of action and wouldn't be replaced.  She said they may be phased out in future and only payment by smartphone was going to be possible. In our house we don't bank online, (although we do use express banking machine at local branch) so found this news a bit of a nuisance, if it happens.

Smartphone isnt a method of payment... it's a device that can be used to make a contactless payment via NFC but still requires them to have a "card" reader. It can also enable you to do a FasterPayment or BACS depending on both your and the their accounts.

So unless they mean they want to move to more bank transfers the statement makes no sense. The issue with bank transfers is that not all banks/accounts support FasterPay so are they going to take it on trust that the payment has gone through or hold the vehicle hostage for up to 3 working days if the payment goes via BACS instead? Not necessarily a bad thing if they've given you a big step up as a courtesy car

diystarter7

Hi OP

Sadly, some people hear stuff and think its going to happen within the next few years at the very, very least so. don't worry as IMO the person may have misheard whatever it was she/he  thougth he/she heard

I just got an app for banking for the first time last week after a long thinking over years.

TBH, I don't see cadrs going but newer more secure versions. Long live the debit/cc cards

Thnaks

Bigphil1474

We'll all be using those chips they injected in us with the Covid vaccine in a few years anyway, so don't worry about your cards

Herzlos

I believe a lot of car dealers are pushing people towards bank transfers, which would mean they don't need to take cards which charge fees.

Of course, no-one is going to be paying for a set of mats or a service with a bank transfer, so the service department would still have a card machine.

diystarter7

Herzlos said:

I believe a lot of car dealers are pushing people towards bank transfers, which would mean they don't need to take cards which charge fees.

Of course, no-one is going to be paying for a set of mats or a service with a bank transfer, so the service department would still have a card machine.

Hi

Apols if I misread your post.

We paid thousands via debit card for new cars, AFAIK, debit cards dont attract fees. Are you saying some do, please?

Many thanks

Flight3287462

diystarter7 said:

Herzlos said:

I believe a lot of car dealers are pushing people towards bank transfers, which would mean they don't need to take cards which charge fees.

Of course, no-one is going to be paying for a set of mats or a service with a bank transfer, so the service department would still have a card machine.

Hi

Apols if I misread your post.

We paid thousands via debit card for new cars, AFAIK, debit cards dont attract fees. Are you saying some do, please?

Many thanks

Of course debit cards attract a  transaction fee!

CliveOfIndia

diystarter7 said:

Herzlos said:

I believe a lot of car dealers are pushing people towards bank transfers, which would mean they don't need to take cards which charge fees.

Of course, no-one is going to be paying for a set of mats or a service with a bank transfer, so the service department would still have a card machine.

AFAIK, debit cards dont attract fees.

A retailer is charged a fee for accepting debt card payments, but it's a lot less than a credit card.  And debit cards usually charge a flat fee of x pence per transaction, whereas credit cards charge a percentage of the transaction amount (hence why car dealerships will very often accept large payments by debit card but not credit card).

westy22

CliveOfIndia said:

diystarter7 said:

AFAIK, debit cards dont attract fees.

A retailer is charged a fee for accepting debt card payments, but it's a lot less than a credit card.  And debit cards usually charge a flat fee of x pence per transaction, whereas credit cards charge a percentage of the transaction amount (hence why car dealerships will very often accept large payments by debit card but not credit card).

The traditional card processors such as banks, VISA etc do indeed charge a small fixed fee with debit cards and a high % fee for credit cards - but the newer 'disruptor' processors such as Stripe charge the same small fee plus a % fee on all card transactions regardless of whether they are debit or credit cards.

Grey_Critic

Well it came from BMW - the cars that have indicators as an optional extra so what do you expect.

Any business hates to have to pay money out and Credit/Debit cards transactions probably add up to a tidy sum over the year but then people paying in cash (or by cheque) are a pain. Somebody has to take it to the bank and with branches closing  that is another expense paying it in.

Strange as it may seem people actually use cash and cheques so the dealership may have a problem, people can go buy elsewhere and will.