Does a bank exist that will stop a debit card withdrawal when the account is empty...

chochot

......without incurring any charges?

My financially un-astute son with a large debt requires an account that will not ply him with money that he hasn't got and the subsequent bank charges for the privilege.

skylight

I have a basic bank account with Natwest (Step). I get a Solo card but no overdraft or cheque book (but every time I go in they ask me if I want to upgrade!)

They did not allow a debit transaction to go through for £90.50, when all I had in the account was £90.10 - so it works for me. (The transaction was declined at the point of sale)

I cannot guarantee that you son will not incur charges though....

skylight

The Co-Op also do a similar basic account - Cashminder.

Lavendyr

I think it depends on the floor limit in the store you're shopping in, even with Solo cards in some cases (from what I've read on here in the past at least). Many shops have a floor limit below which authorisation is not called for - so for instance, if you bought something for £4 in a supermarket, but only had £2.50 in the account, the supermarket might still see the transaction go through because their floor limit is £5.

I may be wrong but I think that's the issue.

dzug

Lavendyr wrote: »

I think it depends on the floor limit in the store you're shopping in, even with Solo cards in some cases (from what I've read on here in the past at least). Many shops have a floor limit below which authorisation is not called for - so for instance, if you bought something for £4 in a supermarket, but only had £2.50 in the account, the supermarket might still see the transaction go through because their floor limit is £5.

I may be wrong but I think that's the issue.

But doesn't the supermarket bear the loss in that case? That is when the transaction is presented, it will/could be refused?

gazebo

unfortunately it is not the supermarket that would bear the loss. It's the customer who used their card when there were insufficient funds in their account.

Some banks used to offer a 'buffer' zone for instances like this, i.e. if you were 36p overdrawn, they wouldn't charge you. However, all banks are different and it really can depend on various different factors.

The bottom line is, don't try and spend more money than you have available to you. I do accept that this can be easier said than done though.

cifpower

Halifax Easycash comes with a Visa Electron and authorisation is asked for at every transaction.

duchy

Any basic bank account will work as they don't have the overdraft buffer.

cifpower

duchy wrote: »

Any basic bank account will work as they don't have the overdraft buffer.

I think some have a £10 buffer. I'm sure I read somewhere that A&L's has this.

ShelfStacker_3

cifpower wrote: »

I think some have a £10 buffer. I'm sure I read somewhere that A&L's has this.

Not any more. They withdrew it.

HSBC say they won't charge fees which are more than the amount you're overdrawn by, but it's still not advisable and they may well let you get away with it.

dellwear

It's better to get him into the habit of keeping a check on his money. He can't rely on someone else to make decisions for him for the rest of his life.