Comment by LgWoodenBadger
19 hours ago
Capitalone is going to need something to make up for switching all their debit cards from MasterCard to Discover
19 hours ago
Capitalone is going to need something to make up for switching all their debit cards from MasterCard to Discover
Yeah, I was pretty unhappy about this. They are already really annoying to use, with a bunch of “offers” popping up every time I open the app.
From ING Direct to Capital One Discover. From fuck Wellsfargo, I'll never do business with them again to two of my subsequent mortgages being sold to them over the last 20 years without my consent. This entire world is designed explicitly to fuck people over at literally every turn as long as someone in the chain somewhere can pocket an extra buck.
It turns out "vote with your dollars" doesn't work when the same 3 companies own everything.
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Who in the world uses debit cards
Majority of EU population. Even in US debit is more popular than credit in 18-25 age bracket.
(Frame of reference: US only) That's a shame, given 18-25 is just the age where a credit card skimmer or online card fraud causing a big fraudulent withdrawal from your checking account, and weeks of waiting to get it back, could be devastating. This has happened to people in my family (likely from gas stations) but we only use credit cards except to pull cash from ATMs, so we only suffer a temporary dip in our available credit line while they investigate and do not have to pay the disputed charges in the meantime.
I know people with terrible credit may have problems getting a credit card, and others may have trouble not treating a credit line as spendable beyond their means, but everyone else should keep the 'debit card' at home or at least confined to their wallet.
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Using my debit card doesn't force the vendor to send 2-3% of the transaction to a company that's in a country threatening to invade mine in exchange for piss poor rewards.
People who don't have credit? I used a debit card at one point, though I don't anymore.
But also, they're looking at moving their credit cards to Discover as well, which would make huge waves (both in the credit card/banking world, and for their customers, who would probably find it very annoying).
I suspect the play they're making is that putting millions of new Discover cards out there will be a tipping point, pressuring the remaining merchants who don't take it, as a play to break the Visa/MC duopoly.
This could be not that hard to pull off. American Express historically was less accepted because of their high fees, but I don't think Discover has or had that problem.
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I’d just drop them.
Nearly every transaction account in Australia now uses a debit card as the access card, usually Visa debit. Some people will have a credit card in addition to that.
Other than merchant transactions, the CapitalOne MC card was one of the recommended cards for overseas ATM withdrawal, so the transition to a different network with almost zero international coverage has been very jarring.
I'm overseas and have a Capital One MC card which I've never had a problem with regarding ATMs and frictionless payments, so I find this news fairly alarming. Wait—they're planning on killing their MC card and converting all their card accounts to Discover?
That doesn't sound good.
I use mine at Costco for purchases over $300 (limit for tap). At least here in Canada, they only accept Mastercard, not Visa, and I don't remember the PIN for my Mastercard.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that occasionally forgets a PIN then just uses that as an excuse not to use that particular card for a few years.
Not uncommon in Canada as far as I can tell. Lower fees for the merchant which I care about when buying locally.
Setting your incredulity aside, I'm curious why you think using a debit card would be so shocking. I effectively don't use a credit card at all: I use a debit card (or an equivalent Apple Pay representation thereof) exclusively. From my perspective, if I want something and I have the money, I'll pay for it. If I want something and I don't have the money, I won't pay for it. I don't often want things outside my budget (and I am not well-off, as a grad student), so I don't often feel any pressure to amortize the purchase over time with a credit card. And I prefer that state of affairs, because I don't want to get in the habit of using someone else's money if I can't afford to pay them back.
This isn't a value judgment on people who do use credit cards. There are plenty of reasons why using a credit card by default would be appropriate, and I'm not shocked to hear of someone who does so. But I am curious where your shock comes from, so I shared my story as a data point.
Credit cards are many products rolled into one.
Despite the name, many people use "credit cards" simply for rewards and enhanced purchase protections, with only incidental use of the credit facility.
In the US market, it is surprising that someone would choose to use a debit card over a credit card (if they have the choice) because they are giving up the rewards and enhanced purchase protections, which are available at effectively zero cost.
If I used a debit card over a credit card, I'd effectively be paying ~2% more for most things I buy, for no benefit.
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Because you're leaving 2-3% on the table for every transaction. Using a credit card doesn't mean you can't pay it off in full every month, costing you zero in interest, while taking advantage of reward programs.
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You are young, you want to use a credit card to protect yourself and build credit history.
Using a debit card, in the event of fraudulent charges, the money is already gone from your bank account and now you are negotiating with your bank to get it back. With a credit card, you file the claim and its generally resolved before your statement closes and anything is due. Your card will also be immediately cancelled, so if its your debit card you will lose ATM access while awaiting the new card.
This will happen to you many times over the course of your lifetime, maybe every 5-10 years. Usually when a number is stolen, they speed run getting as many $1000s of charges in before the card is stopped, which would drain your debit card account.
Credit history is also important. If you don’t have a credit card and build basic credit history before your first job, you will have trouble signing a lease without a parental guarantor.
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I do the same - I use my debit card for everything, all the time. If I don't have the money to buy something, I'd rather just wait until I do; credit cards make it too easy to spend money faster than I earn it.
People who like to tell other people they shouldn't use debit cards often cite fears of fraud, but that's really never been a problem for me.
Because I get 2 to 3% back on every single purchase and I have my account set up to automatically get paid off every month so I've never paid a fee or interest for a credit card so I basically get free money, extra protection, and better credit just for using a credit card, that's why.
They make money off people who pay interest so I just take advantage of that.
Credit cards are strictly better in all aspects (rewards, protection, free working capital, etc) UNLESS you are bad with money/finances.
So there is actually no good reason to use debit cards. I say this as a former user. Makes no sense at all once you think everything through.
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It’s shocking to many because there are so many downsides to using them. Only the merchant benefits.
People who don't enjoy debt?
What do credit cards have to do with debt? I've used them for over a decade and never a carried balance
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