Didn't have to enter my PIN when using card at McDonalds?

Brisk.

Went to the London the other night to watch Porcupine Tree and got some Nuggets, i payed by card and they just swiped it across the little machine and didn't even need my PIN. I always pay by cash so this was a first time by card. Do they do this in all stores?

Scarey how someone could just take anyones card and go on a McDs spree!

mrvedderson

there are lots of places that do that now, my local petrol station only makes you sign on purchases over 40 dollars

rival.

porcupine tree? no shit, how was the show? i love a lot of their work.

blackredyellow

In the US, we don't usually do the whole PIN thing for purchases. Our debit cards are treated like a credit card where you just have to sign for the transaction.

But lately, more and more businesses are approving transactions under a certain amount without needing a signature.

Kinda scary really, anyone can use any card.

Brisk.

singularity wrote:

porcupine tree? no shit, how was the show? i love a lot of their work.

was immense

they played the entire of The Incident and did a few extra. But so happy we got Sound of Muzak for an encore

redrock

That never happened to me nor my daughter. OK, I have a tendency to use my cards for a bit more than nuggets, but with my daughter it can be for tiny amounts and she always has to enter her pin (I'm talking price of coffee at Costa or stuff like that).

I think it is a bit scary that the card is swiped with no 'security', either pin or signature, even for smallish amounts - those can add up.

Brisk.

redrock wrote:

That never happened to me nor my daughter. OK, I have a tendency to use my cards for a bit more than nuggets, but with my daughter it can be for tiny amounts and she always has to enter her pin (I'm talking price of coffee at Costa or stuff like that).

I think it is a bit scary that the card is swiped with no 'security', either pin or signature, even for smallish amounts - those can add up.

I tried to put it in the bottom of the machine you know, like in Tesco. But then he was like no, he just took my card and swiped it across the top and i was like "do i not have to have a pin?" he said 'no' to which i just said a bit loudly, "talk about security!"

peacegirl

blackredyellow wrote:

In the US, we don't usually do the whole PIN thing for purchases. Our debit cards are treated like a credit card where you just have to sign for the transaction.

But lately, more and more businesses are approving transactions under a certain amount without needing a signature.

Kinda scary really, anyone can use any card.

I have found this strange because like you said, anyoen can use the card
so far anything I have not had to sign for has been under $20

chime

Brisk. wrote:

Went to the London the other night to watch Porcupine Tree and got some Nuggets, i payed by card and they just swiped it across the little machine and didn't even need my PIN. I always pay by cash so this was a first time by card. Do they do this in all stores?

Scarey how someone could just take anyones card and go on a McDs spree!

I think it depends on your card issuer. I've heard some banks (I think Barclays is one) issue their debit cards so they don't need pin authorisation for transactions under £10.

I think I would be asking my bank if it is possible to block your card from being used like that!

I've seen the swipe only readers in food take away places but I don't think I've ever seen one used :P

Brisk.

chime wrote:

Brisk. wrote:

Went to the London the other night to watch Porcupine Tree and got some Nuggets, i payed by card and they just swiped it across the little machine and didn't even need my PIN. I always pay by cash so this was a first time by card. Do they do this in all stores?

Scarey how someone could just take anyones card and go on a McDs spree!

I think it depends on your card issuer. I've heard some banks (I think Barclays is one) issue their debit cards so they don't need pin authorisation for transactions under £10.

I think I would be asking my bank if it is possible to block your card from being used like that!

I've seen the swipe only readers in food take away places but I don't think I've ever seen one used :P

Yeah im gonna give Natwest a ring about it as thats who iam with.

rival.

Brisk. wrote:

singularity wrote:

porcupine tree? no shit, how was the show? i love a lot of their work.

was immense

they played the entire of The Incident and did a few extra. But so happy we got Sound of Muzak for an encore

awesome! looove sound of muzak!

soulsinging

if it's a credit/debit card, you only use your pin if you're using it as debit. they usually ask. but they can swipe it as a credit card (which they probably try to do becos it moves people through quicker) and a lot of credit cards now don't require a signature under certain amounts and also with certain vendors. the pin is a decent security measure, but who the hell cares about the signature? have you ever seen anyone actually compare them? could they even tell? it makes more sense to just ask for id.

i think they basically have agreements. eg. if i use my capital one card at target, i dont sign unless it's over a certain amount. they probably worked out a deal where the company doesnt require signatures becos the stores are so common with such volume of typically low cost purchases, that the store is willing to just lose the sale if it ends up being disputed rather than the loss of efficiency of everyone signing or punching in numbers.

Brisk.

soulsinging wrote:

if it's a credit/debit card, you only use your pin if you're using it as debit. they usually ask. but they can swipe it as a credit card (which they probably try to do becos it moves people through quicker) and a lot of credit cards now don't require a signature under certain amounts and also with certain vendors. the pin is a decent security measure, but who the hell cares about the signature? have you ever seen anyone actually compare them? could they even tell? it makes more sense to just ask for id.

i think they basically have agreements. eg. if i use my capital one card at target, i dont sign unless it's over a certain amount. they probably worked out a deal where the company doesnt require signatures becos the stores are so common with such volume of typically low cost purchases, that the store is willing to just lose the sale if it ends up being disputed rather than the loss of efficiency of everyone signing or punching in numbers.

Yeah thats so true, signature is so pointless, never see anyone check everr. I think even once i messed up my signature and it still got passed

tybird

Sometimes the process depends on the value of your purchase....the store that I work @ runs all purchases under $25 as credit due to the processing fees that we are charged.

decides2dream

mrvedderson wrote:

there are lots of places that do that now, my local petrol station only makes you sign on purchases over 40 dollars

yes, and i for one don't like it, at all.


matter of fact, my visa card got declined in the supermarket the other evening. not the first time, either. i was VERY annoyed b/c i have PLENTY of available credit on the card. so, i called em up after the fact to see what's what. they asked if i made a large online purchase thru apple, i said yes. they explained that grocery stores, convenience stores, etc have THE highest rates of credit card fraud. so my large online purchase, then dinner out...and then the grocery store, put up a red flag. on the one hand i appreciate them being so diligent, but on the other...it was an inconvenience. i asked them if they could please somehow flag my local grocer as 'always ok' since this is like the 3rd time such a thing occurred. :P



btw - the last 2 retial jobs i worked, we were REQUIRED to check signatures each and every time, and if you ever got caught NOT doing so, it was a big deal. tho i agree, 99% of the places don't check. however, i STILL like signature being required b/c that way if it looks that bad, at least that is further 'proof' not my purchase. then again, the one and only time a card of ours got stolen (my husband's while i was abroad) and he didn't even notice....andover $3k got charged on it.....we had NO problems having the credit card fully cover it.

dcfaithful

Brisk. wrote:

Went to the London the other night to watch Porcupine Tree and got some Nuggets, i payed by card and they just swiped it across the little machine and didn't even need my PIN. I always pay by cash so this was a first time by card. Do they do this in all stores?

Scarey how someone could just take anyones card and go on a McDs spree!

It's not uncommon...usually on a debit, a pin isn't needed. Or at least that's what I've noticed from my experience. Just watch your bank statement, if something comes up you know you didn't authorize, call them immediately to get it settled...it can be a hassle so it is better to get started with it as soon as you catch it.

81

i think they expect teh consumer to police their wallet. ie if you find your card missing, you call the bank.

it was kind of weird, i always use my card and only get id once or twice per year. but when i traveled back home for the holidays, they asked for id at just about every place.