Debit cards in the USA

Micky 32

Does anyone know which banks allow swiping of their debit cards in the US? The An Post debit card certainly doesn’t work for swiping in the USA . It must be chip and pin according to an post customer service. Chip n pin isn’t popular over there at the moment.

coylemj

Every debit and credit card in my wallet has a magnetic stripe, even the newer ones that no longer have the card number and other details in embosssed (raised) characters. I assume the mag. stripe has survived so that the card can be used in places like the US. Did a call agent in An Post tell you that or is it on their website? It's weird if they can give you a debit card with US Dollars on it but that card can't be used in the US, just doesn't make sense.

NSAman

That’s weird alright. All my Irish debit cards work in the US. AIB and Permanent. Same way my US cards work in Ireland.

Micky 32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120257059#Comment_120257059

When my card failed twice to work after it was swiped i rang an post. She told me on the phone it will only work with the pin. My card has the magnetic strip.

TuamJ

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120259004#Comment_120259004

My debit card is always chip and pin in the US. I don't even try to swipe it. As far as I know swiping just errors out and they tell you to stick it in. My credit card can be swiped although most retail places over there can do chip and pin for the credit card too. Where in the US are you that chip and pin is not common?

hynesie08

Revolut allows swiping, have to turn it on in the app.

Micky 32

I have a credit card but i was thinking of getting rid of it. 1. I don’t need to lend money 2. For me it’s just another card at risk for fraud hanging around.

i have 2 debit cards Revolut and the An post card. The issue arose when i tried to hire a car with the an post debit card at JFK. The company accepts debit cards. The Revolut worked a charm for swiping in the states but i didn’t bother trying it for renting a car as i believe hire companies don’t accept pre paid debit cards.

He swiped the an post card at the desk and it said auuthorisation denied. I tried it in a restaurant in Connecticut that night and it was also denied. Alamo JFK and the restaurant didn’t have a chip n pin facility according to them. Thankfully my credit card worked ok at both places. I phoned An Post and their reply was it must be pin for it to work.

coylemj

i have 2 debit cards Revolut and the An post card. The issue arose when i tried to hire a car with the an post debit card at JFK. The company accepts debit cards. The Revolut worked a charm for swiping in the states but i didn’t bother trying it for renting a car as i believe hire companies don’t accept pre paid debit cards.

Aren't both of them (An Post and Revolut) prepaid debit cards? The problem with using a debit card to rent a car is that they will typically either force you to buy their rip-off insurance or (if you decline the insurance) they will hit the card for the price of the rental and the excess on the insurance to cover themselves in case you damage the car. If you don't have enough money in the account, they will decline the card. If you use a credit card, the excess is covered by them ring-fencing part of your unused credit limit.

Micky 32

I think an post has a bank behind it. I don’t think it’s a prepaid card, i could be wrong though.

Funnily enough there’s a lot more money on my debit card than the credit limit on my credit card. Any deposit they took wouldn’t have bothered me. The car i was renting also was fully insured included in the price which was quite cheap.

coylemj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120265734#Comment_120265734

Yes, it could be a regular debit card. When you mentioned An Post and said you were in the US, I assumed you had the 'Foreign Currency Card' they offer which can be preloaded with US Dollars and is a prepaid card.

Micky 32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120265792#Comment_120265792

No sorry. I meant debit card not the currency one.

Quackster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120265633#Comment_120265633

AFAIK, Revolut hasn't issued prepaid cards for a few years now.

Most, if not all, their cards are standard debit cards, albeit many are coded as 'premium' to attract higher interchange fees outside the EU so some US retailers may decline them for that reason.

Micky 32

I could never get a definitive answer if Revolut are pre paid cards or not.

Micky 32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120268480#Comment_120268480

Existing customers accounts automatically become debit cards?

Micky 32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120268867#Comment_120268867

I received my card May 22. It’s says debit in small letters whether that’s an indication.

Quackster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120269018#Comment_120269018

If it was prepaid, 'prepaid' would be written somewhere on the card.