EBS launch Mastercard Debit Card

boshea19

Was told by my EBS branch that my crappy old non chip and PIN laser card will soon be replaced with a new Debit Card, issued by Mastercard.

Found the below on EBS website...maybe they are going to bring out a whole new current account??? Thought it was a big step given they are about to be sold off to an unknown bidder.

EBS Building Society and MasterCard have today announced an exclusive 5–year partnership for the provision of debit services to Irish consumers, starting in the second half of 2011.

In an important strategic milestone for both partners, EBS will become the first financial institution in Ireland to issue Debit MasterCard, a new generation of debit card which is accepted at over 30 million retail locations and 1.5million ATMs around the world.
Dara Deering, Director of Member Business, EBS said: “We chose to work with MasterCard because we wanted to provide our customers with the best possible debit card solution in the Irish market. The new EBS Debit MasterCard will provide customers with the best functionality, greater access to banking services and more opportunities to pay using their debit card.” Hany Fam, President of MasterCard UK and Ireland, said: “MasterCard is the European market leader in debit, with more than 300 million debit cards across the region, delivering value and innovation to issuers and consumers alike. We’re delighted to be partnering with EBS so that Irish consumers can enjoy the benefits of using their Debit MasterCard securely in shops or online, with unparalleled acceptance both at home and abroad.”

kelle

I'm assuming this is not the same as Mastercard Prepaid debit card?

boshea19

No, was told it was same as the Visa Debit card that Uslter Bank and PTSB offer, sounds very swanky from the sound of it!

BuffyBot

kelle wrote: »

I'm assuming this is not the same as Mastercard Prepaid debit card?

No, Mastercard Debit is the Mastercard equivalent of Visa Debit. It's tied to your current account and is accepted pretty much anywhere Mastercard is on and offline.

jaceq

That's a great news, finally we will have some choice on the market (Visa, Laser, MasterCard)

podge3

I don't believe this :mad:

I have suffered for a few years with my EBS Laser being refused in shops. I decided before Christmas to open a new account with Ulster Bank and use the new account for Vias debit transactions.

The UB account is now open and I went in to my local EBS today to set up a direct debit to the new account. I told the nice lady why I was doing this and she smiled at me and said "we got an email about this today".

So after waiting for years to have it sorted, they finally announce it on the day I get myself sorted elsewhere :cool:. Brilliant.........

Anyhoo, will the EBS Mastercard debit card be acceptable everywhere the MC credit card is? If it is, I can close my credit card account.

BuffyBot

Yes, pretty much.

Toboldlygo

podge3 wrote: »

I don't believe this :mad:

I have suffered for a few years with my EBS Laser being refused in shops. I decided before Christmas to open a new account with Ulster Bank and use the new account for Vias debit transactions.

The UB account is now open and I went in to my local EBS today to set up a direct debit to the new account. I told the nice lady why I was doing this and she smiled at me and said "we got an email about this today".

So after waiting for years to have it sorted, they finally announce it on the day I get myself sorted elsewhere :cool:. Brilliant.........

Anyhoo, will the EBS Mastercard debit card be acceptable everywhere the MC credit card is? If it is, I can close my credit card account.

It will be interesting to see if there are any issues with cashback on this new 'super dooper' card!

Halifax had problems with cashback for their few thousand Visa debit cards and the Visa debit cashback problems were only resolved when Ulster Bank started issuing their cards at the start of last year. I would be surprised if retailers rush to upgrade their systems for the couple of thousand ESB MasterCard debit cards. :rolleyes:

irishguy

So we wont have to pay for Ryanair fees with this??

BuffyBot

Yes, you will. It is *not* a pre-paid Mastercard (which attracts 0 fees on Ryanair).

Toboldlygo

irishguy wrote: »

So we wont have to pay for Ryanair fees with this??

Wise up. Can you see Michael O'Leary missing an opportunity to add a few more euros to his bottom line?

As Buffybot says this isn't a prepaid MasterCard.

Jorda 12

I tried using this today for the first time to pay a bill on Billpay and it doesn't allow me to do so So thats a bit of a bummer :mad:

sitstill

Did you ring them to activate it?

Hurley6969

Got my debit card yesterday and called and activated it. The bloke on the phone said it would be good to go in 5 - 10 mins after that, which was about 1 pm. Tried to withdraw cash last night and got an insufficient funds message, i know there is money in the account, then tried to pay for food in the shop today but the payment didnt go through. The customer care lines are only open weekdays. Has this happened to anyone else? Do I need to do something or is it something on EBS's end?

Jorda 12

sitstill wrote: »

Did you ring them to activate it?

Yes i did that the day i got it . I have used it in a shop and it's ok ( although i'm not sure all shops accept them ).......it just doesn't give me the option to use it to pay a bill on billpay :-(

BuffyBot

Billpay may not have updated their systems to accept debit MasterCard yet.

Sir123

Do you have to wait for your pin to come in the post before you can activate it ?

Jorda 12

BuffyBot wrote: »

Billpay may not have updated their systems to accept debit MasterCard yet.

I emailed them and they are bringing out a new website called ' mybills.ie' They won't be having mastercard debit card on it. So they have lost a customer :-(

Jorda 12

Sir123 wrote: »

Do you have to wait for your pin to come in the post before you can activate it ?

I got my pin in the post first then the card came a few days later. I didn't need my pin to activate the card.

LoTwan

Does anyone have a list of where cash back is available with the EBS debit card? Tesco & SuperValus system aren't registering it as a debit card & so aren't offering cashback.