Halifax & Visa Debit Card?

Hey all

With my credit history, theres no chance of getting a credit card.

I've been using 3v for a few years now. And have also moved to the payzone alternative.
But, its just the fact you have to go to the shop after taking money from the ATM and putting cash on it etc etc etc.

Too much hassle for my liking !

Anyway, long story short, have been thinking of moving to Halifax, mostly because they have the Visa Debit card, which would make life a lot easier, especially when buying stuff online.

Few brief questions.

1. Is it 100% like a Visa CC in terms of use online, like can it be used everywhere, its not restricted like Lazer.
2. I've seen posts / threads about hassle using it on paypal and a few other websites, like HMV, is this still the same?
3. I've also seen posts about people having difficulty using it in Lidl / Aldi....rarely shop there, but would be mortified if I did my shopping then they refused the card, again, is this still the case?
4. I recall a lot of media banter about Halifax closing branches, is this still on the cards, if so would that mean they are gone out of the country or would they just be an online-type bank....I very rarely do go into the bank itself, but at least I know I can with AIB.

Any other bad or good points that might help me make up my mind?
Similarly, good or bad points about halifax in general.

Cheers All,
Spy

almalahide

Deleted User wrote: »

Hey all

1. Is it 100% like a Visa CC in terms of use online, like can it be used everywhere, its not restricted like Lazer.

Yes im with Halifax, Ive used it online across europe, America etc. ONLY been refused in Lidl and Aldi, never had another place refuse it. Choose the Visa option if theres no visa debit and it works.

1. I've seen posts / threads about hassle using it on paypal and a few other websites, like HMV, is this still the same?

Perhaps with UB, but I downloaded music earlier from HMV and have done without problem and ive used paypal. Id imagine UB will sort this out quickly.

1. I've also seen posts about people having difficulty using it in Lidl / Aldi....rarely shop there, but would be mortified if I did my shopping then they refused the card, again, is this still the case?

Yes but I dont shop there so it wont bother me.

1. I recall a lot of media banter about Halifax closing branches, is this still on the cards, if so would that mean they are gone out of the country or would they just be an online-type bank....I very rarely do go into the bank itself, but at least I know I can with AIB.

Who knows, so many rumours according to most media they should have closed in August. My guess is that Lloyds will sell off Halifax UK/IRE/Spain as a whole next year to perhaps Virgin. Worst case they decide to close Halifax Ireland and you have to set up another account.

Any other bad or good points that might help me make up my mind?
Similarly, good or bad points about halifax in general.

Ive only had excellent dealings with them, they have rang me when im making unusal purchases or big ones on my mobile the odd time just to see its me. The online banking gives full details of tranactions down to time of purchase and you can set up standing orders/payments etc without ringing them up like BOI and waiting a week.

I certainly would die if i Had to go back to Laser/BOI!!

almalahide

Sorry about the way i replied there im only new.

Jet Black

Is it 100% like a Visa CC in terms of use online, like can it be used everywhere, its not restricted like Lazer.

Yes its accepted everywhere. Almost 100%, you are only spending your own money.

I've seen posts / threads about hassle using it on paypal and a few other websites, like HMV, is this still the same?

There was a lot of trouble with the card to begin with but the majority of the issues has been resolved, have used it in HMV and for paypal with no trouble.

I've also seen posts about people having difficulty using it in Lidl / Aldi....rarely shop there, but would be mortified if I did my shopping then they refused the card, again, is this still the case?

Have a look here.



Im not 100% sure but question 4 may fall into this category.
Ulster bank also issue visa debit cards.

All sounds sweet. Is there any hassle with moving back to Aib if I don't like halifax? Any time restraints or similar ?

BuffyBot

Nope, no time restraints at all

daithijjj

Been with halifax for just over 12 months for the visa debit card alone, never had an issue on the street or online.

**Timbuk2**

Visa Debit won't work (yet!) in Aldi or Lidl, but it has nearly 100% acceptance everywhere else.

I have an Ulster Bank one, and have never had a problem with it. The Halifax one has been around longer so in theory it should be superior to the UB one (at the moment anyway!)

Great, all sounds class! Was up north yesterday and one or two shops in Belfast wouldn't accept lazer or maesto! That did it for me, going to put through the application today!

Thanks for the advice lads!

Spy

almalahide

Yep, it so handy up North and everywhere else. Its funny when you see people trying to pay for stuff in Uk with Laser (I usually have to bail friends out). I think they must presume it works in shops worldwide. Once you go to Visa Debit you wont go back!

Supercell

The Halifax visa debit doesnt work abroad (not in the UK, Netherlands or China where i tried it). My regular Mastercard works fine in all countries, maybe something that might be relevant to your choice.

BuffyBot

I've used mine on 4 different continents without problem..and I'd suspect most people will. I've had a Visa debit from a UK bank before and used it all over without problem - so I suspect your problem is a little less general than you make it sound.

uberwolf

Supercell wrote: »

The Halifax visa debit doesnt work abroad (not in the UK, Netherlands or China where i tried it). My regular Mastercard works fine in all countries, maybe something that might be relevant to your choice.

as I understand it, this is an issue which is dependent on whether the store uses MC or visa as its POS. If it's visa then visa can check its own system, MC don't have access. I used my visa debit in london last week with mixed results

BuffyBot

as I understand it, this is an issue which is dependent on whether the store uses MC or visa as its POS.

Mastercard and/or VISA don't operate the point of sale terminals, so it doesn't actually have any impact. The only thing that should stop the card being accepted is if the retailer doesn't accept Visa and only accepts Mastercard etc (which would be highly unusual)

MarkR

Supercell wrote: »

The Halifax visa debit doesnt work abroad (not in the UK, Netherlands or China where i tried it). My regular Mastercard works fine in all countries, maybe something that might be relevant to your choice.

I used it in several shops in London and it worked fine each time. Couple of clothes shops, and a atm. No problems for me.

Jet Black

Supercell wrote: »

The Halifax visa debit doesnt work abroad (not in the UK, Netherlands or China where i tried it). My regular Mastercard works fine in all countries, maybe something that might be relevant to your choice.

It could be the bank seen the transactions as suspicious and would not autorise them. It would say on the machine please contact you bank.

daithijjj

Use mine in birmingham all the time.

almalahide

Thats really odd that it didnt work in UK, China etc as I have used it in Europe incl Uk, Spain, Germany, Latvia, France and a few others plus the states and it worked everywhere. I also used it for nearly all purchases as I dont like cash. I suspect it could be a card problem or there could be a block on outside Ireland use.

Kila

I have a card, current account, and savings account with them at the moment.

Very happy with the card - I rarely use my actual credit card for credit purchases anymore. I have used it all over the place - several different shops online (ranging from the big to the small), all over London and the UK, all over Germany, Northern Ireland, etc. I have had no problems doing so and I think it's a really handy thing to have. Like laser, but more useful because it can be used in so many more places.

Cheers for all the info lads. Will deff be moving, today hopefully.

100gSoma

Aldi Lidl don't take Mastercard or VISA credit cards OR debit cards. nothing to do with visa DEBIT as such. They have agreements with Laser in Ireland and with some other card in Germany so don't take Mastercard or VISA in Germany either. all to save the 2% charge to the retailer.

As for using the VISA debit online or abroad, it should be treated Identically as a VISA credit card as it uses the VISA clearing system. no difference.
Possibly when the new range of numbers were intorduced initially it wa snot accepted in some places, but I'm sure all shops etc have updated their terminals at least once in the past year. I have used the card everywhere from USA to Estonia. No problems using it as a payment card, or an ATM card.
In fact with the exchange rates lately (strong Euro) it was cheaper paying everywhere with the card then actually getting local currency.

Supercell

I'm really surprised you can all use your Visa debit card in other countries!
Will pop down to my local Halifax branch and ask them to check it out next time I am off work.

**Timbuk2**

Visa Debit should have no problems being used in different countries.

However, I would advise that if you are planning to travel abroad and use your card, ring your bank and tell them first. They view foreign transaction as suspicious and can lock your card (not sure if this is the correct term) if transactions look suspicious. If you notify your bank that you will be using your card abroad, e.g. France, next week, they can put a note on your account and your card won't be stopped.

paddyb

I used mine in Japan earlier in the year

100gSoma

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

I would advise that if you are planning to travel abroad and use your card, ring your bank and tell them first. They view foreign transaction as suspicious and can lock your card

Never had this happen before, and if they were to lock every card everytime it was used abroad without prior warning to the bank, well they would spend most of their time unlocking cards.
They will flag it though if a single transaction for more than 3k or 4k suddenly comes in from a foreign country. Or if multiple countries are using the card within a few days. but I would doubt they would lock a card just for normal holiday use. Especially not in western / EU countries. You could ring them for peace of mind I suppose.

daithijjj

100gSoma wrote: »

Never had this happen before, and if they were to lock every card everytime it was used abroad without prior warning to the bank, well they would spend most of their time unlocking cards.
They will flag it though if a single transaction for more than 3k or 4k suddenly comes in from a foreign country. Or if multiple countries are using the card within a few days. but I would doubt they would lock a card just for normal holiday use. Especially not in western / EU countries. You could ring them for peace of mind I suppose.

My credit card provider rang me while i was out shopping last xmas. As it happens, i hadnt been using the card much and then one day i was half way through spending about 500 quid on several gifts, so they called me.

Not sure what procedure is in place but upon reflection i was happy in the knowledge that if it was taken/stolen they were on the ball.

For piece of mind, if you are going well over your usual spend call into a branch or ring them, they can just put a note on the account (not sure how this works with a debit card though, mine was a credit card).

**Timbuk2**

100gSoma wrote: »

Never had this happen before, and if they were to lock every card everytime it was used abroad without prior warning to the bank, well they would spend most of their time unlocking cards.
They will flag it though if a single transaction for more than 3k or 4k suddenly comes in from a foreign country. Or if multiple countries are using the card within a few days. but I would doubt they would lock a card just for normal holiday use. Especially not in western / EU countries. You could ring them for peace of mind I suppose.

No probably not, but I have heard of it happening. My friend used his CC in England and the bank ended up ringing him to make sure the transaction was genuine. I probably should have been more specific in my post and said that transactions that appear to be out of your usual spending habit might lead to the account being flagged, especially if it's from a foreign country.

But you're completely right - it probably doesn't apply to Western/EU countries, maybe more for countries like Nigeria or something.

Supercell

One other thing, if your card is lost or stolen you will get a replacement card and rthe letter with it says the pin us the same as your last one..it isnt!!

You will get a new pin a few days later in the post, the customer care rep sounded a bit exasperated when i asked him why they dont just change the working on the letter ( I bet i'm not the first person to ask that!!) . All he could do is say its a standard letteer thats wrong for Ireland!! I had tried my card only twice before I rang them so it wasnt eaten by the machine but if it had been i'd have been pretty annoyed.

Davy

Pins normally revert to the original pin that came with he card. People forget this when they have changed the pin themselves

Supercell

Davy wrote: »

Pins normally revert to the original pin that came with he card. People forget this when they have changed the pin themselves

Davy really, do you think this is reasonable?

Davy

Well the old card would be deactivated so it doesn't make much difference imo. Issuing a different pin wont make a difference when using the card, you show the pin to world to see