Yearning for the return of proper debit cards

Section62

MyRealNameToo said:

Section62 said:

la531983 said:

Yeah, lets bring back outdoor toilets, chequebooks, Teletext and fax machines!

Or, just simply accept life, security measures and technology move on.

The first of those is really useful if you do a lot of gardening, the second has never gone away (and remains reasonably well used).

Teletext lives on in BBC Red Button, and I'm fairly sure lawyers still enjoy communicating by fax (and apparently less hackable than emails).

And if your favourite retailer still has a clickclack machine for when they have power or internet blackouts then I could understand why still having an embossed card could be useful.

...
Given we are talking chequebooks not cheques... why do you think they are reasonably well used? Can't remember the last time I even saw a chequebook let alone known one to be used. In 1990 there were 4bn cheques paid in, in 2023 there was 0.1bn cheques paid in and you can be fairly sure the vast majority of those were corporate cheques printed on letter stock not someone filling in and tearing out a cheque from a chequebook.
...

0.1bn looks like a really small number, unless you write it as 100,000,000.  If we accept your "vast majority" as true, and put a figure of 1% on personal cheques, that would be around a million personal cheques per year.

This is what I mean by "reasonably well used". (as in, not yet obsolete)

That you can't remember the last time you saw a chequebook let alone known one to be used, doesn't mean they aren't.  Head over to the regular saver thread and you'll note that making the first payment into a postal regular saver by cheque is a useful technique, and some building societies - notably currently the Scottish Building Society - insist on having a cheque sent to them as the first deposit for a postal application.

The point being - one person's perception of something being outdated and no longer useful doesn't equate to that being a fact.  Most of us have no need for embossed cards, but as another poster pointed out, there are parts of the world and certain types of transaction where not having an embossed card could be an issue.

moneyaspie2024

Section62 said:

MyRealNameToo said:

Section62 said:

la531983 said:

Yeah, lets bring back outdoor toilets, chequebooks, Teletext and fax machines!

Or, just simply accept life, security measures and technology move on.

The first of those is really useful if you do a lot of gardening, the second has never gone away (and remains reasonably well used).

Teletext lives on in BBC Red Button, and I'm fairly sure lawyers still enjoy communicating by fax (and apparently less hackable than emails).

And if your favourite retailer still has a clickclack machine for when they have power or internet blackouts then I could understand why still having an embossed card could be useful.

...
Given we are talking chequebooks not cheques... why do you think they are reasonably well used? Can't remember the last time I even saw a chequebook let alone known one to be used. In 1990 there were 4bn cheques paid in, in 2023 there was 0.1bn cheques paid in and you can be fairly sure the vast majority of those were corporate cheques printed on letter stock not someone filling in and tearing out a cheque from a chequebook.
...

0.1bn looks like a really small number, unless you write it as 100,000,000.  If we accept your "vast majority" as true, and put a figure of 1% on personal cheques, that would be around a million personal cheques per year.

This is what I mean by "reasonably well used". (as in, not yet obsolete)

That you can't remember the last time you saw a chequebook let alone known one to be used, doesn't mean they aren't.  Head over to the regular saver thread and you'll note that making the first payment into a postal regular saver by cheque is a useful technique, and some building societies - notably currently the Scottish Building Society - insist on having a cheque sent to them as the first deposit for a postal application.

The point being - one person's perception of something being outdated and no longer useful doesn't equate to that being a fact.  Most of us have no need for embossed cards, but as another poster pointed out, there are parts of the world and certain types of transaction where not having an embossed card could be an issue.

When I was denied a blue badge I paid for it with my credit card, however when I was informed the appeal had been successful I was told as the fee had been refunded the only way I could pay the fee for the overturned application is by cheque or postal order. 

So cheques very much still have their place. 

moneyaspie2024

la531983 said:

Yeah, lets bring back outdoor toilets, chequebooks, Teletext and fax machines!

Or, just simply accept life, security measures and technology move on.

Yet we where all told things like PayM where you could pay someone just using their mobile number was supposed to be the way of the future, and ended up being a total flop. 

born_again

moneyaspie2024 said:

Section62 said:

MyRealNameToo said:

Section62 said:

la531983 said:

Yeah, lets bring back outdoor toilets, chequebooks, Teletext and fax machines!

Or, just simply accept life, security measures and technology move on.

The first of those is really useful if you do a lot of gardening, the second has never gone away (and remains reasonably well used).

Teletext lives on in BBC Red Button, and I'm fairly sure lawyers still enjoy communicating by fax (and apparently less hackable than emails).

And if your favourite retailer still has a clickclack machine for when they have power or internet blackouts then I could understand why still having an embossed card could be useful.

...
Given we are talking chequebooks not cheques... why do you think they are reasonably well used? Can't remember the last time I even saw a chequebook let alone known one to be used. In 1990 there were 4bn cheques paid in, in 2023 there was 0.1bn cheques paid in and you can be fairly sure the vast majority of those were corporate cheques printed on letter stock not someone filling in and tearing out a cheque from a chequebook.
...

0.1bn looks like a really small number, unless you write it as 100,000,000.  If we accept your "vast majority" as true, and put a figure of 1% on personal cheques, that would be around a million personal cheques per year.

This is what I mean by "reasonably well used". (as in, not yet obsolete)

That you can't remember the last time you saw a chequebook let alone known one to be used, doesn't mean they aren't.  Head over to the regular saver thread and you'll note that making the first payment into a postal regular saver by cheque is a useful technique, and some building societies - notably currently the Scottish Building Society - insist on having a cheque sent to them as the first deposit for a postal application.

The point being - one person's perception of something being outdated and no longer useful doesn't equate to that being a fact.  Most of us have no need for embossed cards, but as another poster pointed out, there are parts of the world and certain types of transaction where not having an embossed card could be an issue.

When I was denied a blue badge I paid for it with my credit card, however when I was informed the appeal had been successful I was told as the fee had been refunded the only way I could pay the fee for the overturned application is by cheque or postal order. 

So cheques very much still have their place. 

Only with companies that live in the dark ages & refuse to let their staff make online payments. 

[Deleted User]

I really think cards themselves may be on the way out. What with the payment limit potentially being removed. Within 5/10 years you may have to request a card, else load it on your phone only. I don't think we are quite there yet but it is very possible. 

moneyaspie2024

[Deleted User] said:

I really think cards themselves may be on the way out. What with the payment limit potentially being removed. Within 5/10 years you may have to request a card, else load it on your phone only. I don't think we are quite there yet but it is very possible. 

Not even close to that, how are you supposed to get cash if you needed it, can’t do it with your phone. 

The old saying goes don’t try to fix what isn’t broken. 

In the U.S. some places don’t actually accept mobile payments, this is the case with Walmart where they have their own payment platform, but unless you are a U.S. resident you can’t sign up or load cards to it, which leaves the only alternative for everyone else, a physical card. 

To remove the already high limit from the cards is ludicrous, contactless fraud is now rife and someone’s bank account could be cleared in literally a matter of seconds. 

WillPS

Rob5342 said:

It's surpring how long embossed cards have lasted really. I first got a debit card over 30 years ago and I don't think I've ever used it anywhere that had one of the old fashioned card machines that needed an embossed card to put the numbers on the slip. 

Although EFTPOS has been the default in the UK since the 90s, many merchants still relied on the old school 'click-clack' as a fallback until much more recently.

Uriziel

More and more people are paying with their phones and printing those embossed cards cost quite a bit of money for the bank. I don't think this is coming back.

moneyaspie2024

Uriziel said:

More and more people are paying with their phones and printing those embossed cards cost quite a bit of money for the bank. I don't think this is coming back.

I’m sure with 40% overdraft charges they make more than enough to bridge the gap. 

Also phones cannot be used at pay at pump only forecourts, they don’t accept contactless payments. 

Section62

moneyaspie2024 said:

Uriziel said:

More and more people are paying with their phones and printing those embossed cards cost quite a bit of money for the bank. I don't think this is coming back.

I’m sure with 40% overdraft charges they make more than enough to bridge the gap. 

Also phones cannot be used at pay at pump only forecourts, they don’t accept contactless payments. 

I think Adsa are rolling out contactless.... but instruct you not to use* your phone on the forecourt. (*other retailers, including Sainsbury's, specify that 'use' is for anything, not just making calls.  Not sure Asda fully define 'use')