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"James Linn" <jlinn@idirect.com> wrote in message 
news:Rq6dnQ4iluFTkibenZ2dnUVZ_sydnZ2d@look.ca...
> GregRo wrote:
>> Debit card question
>>
>> In the US.  Do to the lawsuit filled by wal-mart and others.
>>
>> Check Cards with a Master card or Visa symbol must be identified as a
>> debit card.   The money comes from your checking or savings account.
>>
>> In the U.S. Merchants have the following choices
>> Pin purchases only
>> Signature debit purchases only
>> Signature credit card purchases only
>> or all of the above.
>>
>>
>>
>> My question
>> Are they doing this worldwide or just in the US?
>
> Canada had greater market penetration of ATMs than the US in the early 80s 
> and for all Canadian Banks, the ATM card is a debit card. Whether you use 
> it at an ATM or at a card machine at a retailer, you use a PIN. Debit 
> cards can access either a chequing or savings account - you get a prompt. 
> Debit cards in Canada do not have VISA or MC symbols - only the bank's 
> logo.
>
> At a retailler they use the same machine for credit card purchases which 
> require a signature - the difference is in the form of the receipt.
>
> There have been experiments with smart cards with chips but nothing caught 
> on.
>
> I don't know what happens at Walmart in the US - in Canada they were the 
> last major retailler to go debit, and they offer cashback which can be 
> handy.
>
> Hope that helps.

Canadian debit cards use the "Interac" network, so your run of the mill 
American Plus / Cirrus / Maestro ATM card will not work. However Canadian 
debit cards usually have a cirrus or plus logo, so they can be used in 
foreign ATMs, but I don't know if they will work at American POS terminals.

An American debit card with a Visa / MC logo will be rung through like a 
credit card transaction (signature, not Pin, no cash back available)