I thought debit cards and other plastic cards would speed up lines

[k3n]

Disadvantages to Credit Cards:
-Nothing.


In conclusion, if you still use cash you are retarded to boot and can't handle finances.

What if someone's bank account gets frozen, espeially for being a political dissident; and they can't leave the country?

 

[kuroneko]

it speeds up things elsewhere (ie closing up is faster) not at paying

 

[anothermacuser]

It's illegal to charge more for credit purchases than for cash where I live, but that doesn't stop vendors from breaking the law and saying they offer a 'cash discount'. Or my favorite, saying that they don't take Amex when they did yesterday.

Muggings and currency counterfeiting are so common here that vendors actually prefer credit.

Using credit absolutely speeds up the transaction when you're dealing with a retail workforce who's one-third xannie barred out, one-third on methadone, and one-third too mad at being treated equal to the first two-thirds to be functioning correctly.

Credit always seems faster than cash everywhere I've been in the US and Canada. Even using a US credit card in Québec.

 

[CountZero]

When the person with the card isn't a complete moron it is fast enough. Most of the buttons are pressed before the cashier even finishes scanning. Even if it is a small order a competent person will be barely slower than a person with cash and correct change in hand.

The flip side is that morons get stuck on these things a lot. IMO if it takes you three tries to get through the menus then you should have your license revoked. Not because it is directly related to driving but because you have demonstrated you are too stupid to operate a simple machine and definitely can't handle the complexity of driving. Really you should be walking or using a bike with training wheels.

 

[Carson Dyle]

It's illegal to charge more for credit purchases than for cash where I live, but that doesn't stop vendors from breaking the law and saying they offer a 'cash discount'. Or my favorite, saying that they don't take Amex when they did yesterday.

The other one is that many places will refuse to take a card for a charge below some dollar amount. Usually $5 or $10. I've seen bars do this quite often, because you have idiots who refuse to run a tab and want their card to be swiped for every freaking $3 beer they drink. This isn't illegal, but card companies generally prohibit the practice in their agreements.

 

[Anubis]

Does no one carry money anymore?

I have not carried cash in like 10 years

 

[Zargon]

I shop at cash only places where I save easy 10-20% over anywhere else. And I've never once in my life been mugged. Even if I get mugged today the amount I've saved over not using credit will still be >>>>>>>>. Credit cards are worthless imho. Find cash only places and you'll see the light of carrying cash. I don't understand credit card "cash back" nonsense when it winds up still being more expensive 10/10 times.

how is credit 'more expensive'?

are you buying everything on craigslist including groceries?

They need to make cards be a one touch transaction, where the whole process is simplified. Like with chip cards it's fairly quick as you just need to enter a pin, but often it's the machine itself that is slow, especially the dialup ones. They need to streamline the entire process so it's lightning fast. Perhaps for small transactions the store should be able to choose to cache the transaction or something so it just happens after. If by chance it's a declined card or w/e it's not like they're losing that much and during the time saved they served more customers.

Take Tim Horton's for example if the transaction could take 5 seconds (insert card, hit ok and no waiting) it would speed up the whole line. These transactions could be setup so it does not require a pin.

credit at Meijer, under like $50, no signature required. and they have chip readers, its lightning fast

The other one is that many places will refuse to take a card for a charge below some dollar amount. Usually $5 or $10. I've seen bars do this quite often, because you have idiots who refuse to run a tab and want their card to be swiped for every freaking $3 beer they drink. This isn't illegal, but card companies generally prohibit the practice in their agreements.

a few places I go to have a $10 min on a card. most are bars, ones a Chinese place, and the other a local custard place that just started accepting cards a few years ago


using carrying cash over a credit card is pretty silly unless you think the gov is tracking you via purchases, and even then, they've probably already GPS'd you, if not your car

 

[Phoenix86]

credit card is faster. especially when they accept RFID. i just wave my card in front of reader. done in 2 seconds.

Thieves like them too.

Done in 2 seconds!

 

[QueBert]

how is credit 'more expensive'?

are you buying everything on craigslist including groceries?

I shop at cash only places in LA for the majority of my stuff, and the prices are cheaper than anywhere else. Even with cash back on a credit card I wouldn't do nearly as well as I do. So that would make credit more expensive by default. Now most of the country doesn't have access to shopping like you find in LA, so obviously cash > credit doesn't apply to the majority of people on here.

 

[alkemyst]

When the person with the card isn't a complete moron it is fast enough. Most of the buttons are pressed before the cashier even finishes scanning. Even if it is a small order a competent person will be barely slower than a person with cash and correct change in hand.

The flip side is that morons get stuck on these things a lot. IMO if it takes you three tries to get through the menus then you should have your license revoked. Not because it is directly related to driving but because you have demonstrated you are too stupid to operate a simple machine and definitely can't handle the complexity of driving. Really you should be walking or using a bike with training wheels.

QFT, most of the time I have already scanned my card once the first item is scanned. Any problem I have can be rectified whether I waited to swipe or not.

 

[alkemyst]

I shop at cash only places in LA for the majority of my stuff, and the prices are cheaper than anywhere else. Even with cash back on a credit card I wouldn't do nearly as well as I do. So that would make credit more expensive by default. Now most of the country doesn't have access to shopping like you find in LA, so obviously cash > credit doesn't apply to the majority of people on here.

probably smells like dirty ass in those places and BO.

 

[jlee]

Thieves like them too.

Done in 2 seconds!

Not my problem. I'll take the added convenience.

 

[akugami]

It's illegal to charge more for credit purchases than for cash where I live, but that doesn't stop vendors from breaking the law and saying they offer a 'cash discount'. Or my favorite, saying that they don't take Amex when they did yesterday.

Where do you live? I'm not aware of any laws that make it illegal to charge more for credit card purchases. Usually the reason why it's not allowed is because contractually, when you sign up for a merchant account, it's part of the TOS that you can't charge more for credit card purchases.

With that said, and this is a recent change, credit cards (but not debit cards) may also be subject to a surcharge at the merchant's discretion. I believe this needs to be posted in some place visible so you can see it before you make the credit payment but don't quote me on that. Also some states are banning the credit card surcharge. The ban does not affect cash discounts.

Which brings us to the cash discounts themselves. There is nothing in the merchant account TOS that I'm aware of that prohibits cash discounts. That's what many merchants are doing and it is perfectly legal to do so everywhere in the US of A. The cash discount needs to be posted visibly for the customer.

And merchants are allowed to require up to a $10 minimum for credit card purchases.

 

[Red Squirrel]

When the person with the card isn't a complete moron it is fast enough. Most of the buttons are pressed before the cashier even finishes scanning. Even if it is a small order a competent person will be barely slower than a person with cash and correct change in hand.

The flip side is that morons get stuck on these things a lot. IMO if it takes you three tries to get through the menus then you should have your license revoked. Not because it is directly related to driving but because you have demonstrated you are too stupid to operate a simple machine and definitely can't handle the complexity of driving. Really you should be walking or using a bike with training wheels.

How do you swipe/insert before they're done scanning though, the total wont be known at that point?

But yeah it's usually the morons that slow things down. That or the people with a status card. They need to do way with those status cards. The natives get so much free stuff from our tax dollars, they should be paying into that too.

 

[alkemyst]

And merchants are allowed to require up to a $10 minimum for credit card purchases.

It's not the merchants that require it. They get their minimum for small purchases so the shop sets that.

Like charging more for credit, minimums are against the merchant TOS.

 

[alkemyst]

How do you swipe/insert before they're done scanning though, the total wont be known at that point?

But yeah it's usually the morons that slow things down. That or the people with a status card. They need to do way with those status cards. The natives get so much free stuff from our tax dollars, they should be paying into that too.

umm, bro...the computer will capture the card number and then bill it at the end.

You usually have to push a button to accept it and that's it.

 

[who?]

I swipe my debit card as soon as the cashier has scanned the first item and enter my PIN. It doesn't charge until the cashier pushes the button on the other side.

 

[Red Squirrel]

umm, bro...the computer will capture the card number and then bill it at the end.

You usually have to push a button to accept it and that's it.

Never seen it work that way, usually if you put in the card before they initialize the terminal to accept a card it errors out and you have to redo it. I usually wait till the terminal says to insert the card, which is only after all the items are scanned.

 

[CountZero]

Never seen it work that way, usually if you put in the card before they initialize the terminal to accept a card it errors out and you have to redo it. I usually wait till the terminal says to insert the card, which is only after all the items are scanned.

Weird, must be a Canada thing. Never seen a machine in the US that didn't allow you to start swiping after the first item is scanned.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Never seen it work that way, usually if you put in the card before they initialize the terminal to accept a card it errors out and you have to redo it. I usually wait till the terminal says to insert the card, which is only after all the items are scanned.

I've NEVER seen that. I don't think you're paying attention. If you're paranoid, swipe it after the first item is scanned.

I swipe (almost always my debit card), change the payment type to Credit, or else Cancel when asked for a PIN, then wait for the total. At that point, the most I have to do is press a confirmation button, although some systems no longer require even that.

(For whatever reason, my credit union issues a transaction charge (25 or 50 cents, IIRC) for debit card purchases, so I always run it as a credit card. Online purchases automatically go through as credit cards. I've yet to get hit with the charge. Knock on wood.)

 

[Red Squirrel]

I've NEVER seen that. I don't think you're paying attention. If you're paranoid, swipe it after the first item is scanned.

I swipe (almost always my debit card), change the payment type to Credit, or else Cancel when asked for a PIN, then wait for the total. At that point, the most I have to do is press a confirmation button, although some systems no longer require even that.

(For whatever reason, my credit union issues a transaction charge (25 or 50 cents, IIRC) for debit card purchases, so I always run it as a credit card. Online purchases automatically go through as credit cards. I've yet to get hit with the charge. Knock on wood.)

Sometimes I jump the gun and put the card in before they're done scanning or finalizing the purchase (usually they hit a few buttons before the machine says to insert card, guessing they need to select credit and card type). It immediately errors out and cashier gets me to pull out and reinsert once the machine says so. Though it seems some machines work differently than others. Some I need to specify to the cashier if I'm using credit or debit, and sometimes even have to specify card type (visa or mastercard). Other machines don't care. Maybe it works with those, either way I just wait till the machine tells me to put the card in and that's always after the items are scanned and that works fine.

 

[akugami]

It's not the merchants that require it. They get their minimum for small purchases so the shop sets that.

Like charging more for credit, minimums are against the merchant TOS.

Many merchants want a minimum for the credit card transactions. The reason being they need to make enough to recoup the transaction costs associated with a credit card transaction. This used to be against the merchant service TOS. It is no longer part of the TOS. By federal law, it is now legal for merchants to require a minimum for credit card transactions but the minimum may not exceed $10.00.

http://www.business.ftc.gov/documents/bus78-new-rules-electronic-payments-lower-costs-retailers

 

[alkemyst]

Many merchants want a minimum for the credit card transactions. The reason being they need to make enough to recoup the transaction costs associated with a credit card transaction. This used to be against the merchant service TOS. It is no longer part of the TOS. By federal law, it is now legal for merchants to require a minimum for credit card transactions but the minimum may not exceed $10.00.

http://www.business.ftc.gov/documents/bus78-new-rules-electronic-payments-lower-costs-retailers

Ahh, did not know that changed.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

cash is better for some things. credit better for most.

for example if you're getting drinks under the table at the bar, bring cash. if you want to limit the # of shots you buy. just use cash. if you want to eat at that hole in the wall at 3am after you've been drinking all night. use credit unless it's cash only.

 

[alkemyst]

cash is better for some things. credit better for most.

for example if you're getting drinks under the table at the bar, bring cash. if you want to limit the # of shots you buy. just use cash. if you want to eat at that hole in the wall at 3am after you've been drinking all night. use credit unless it's cash only.

I don't think ATOT is about discussing stealing from your local bar.