credit card networks

[micky]

I used to read that my debit cards would work at a machine with the Cirrus logo and iirc that logo was also on the card. It was on the card, right? And on the ATM also?

But now no cirrus or star or pulse logo or any other logo appears on the card except the the word Mastercard with the red and orange circle, or the word Visa.

I also have 3 credit cards with no logo and they work wherever I've tried to use them.

Does this mean that Star and Pulse etc. merged or cooperate so closely that one no longer has to care what network his card is enrolled in? That they'll all work everywhere?

What about use in countries other than the USA?

[Scott Lurndal]

Call the convenient toll-free (freecall) number on the back of your card and ask them.

[Rod Speed]

Those do accept mastercard and visa and many of them accept amex as well.

Quite a few accept the chinese unionpay cards now.

Some accept Diners but hardly any the more obscure US cards.

[gfretwell]

These days ATM switches are pretty much universal, any card works in any machine but you still incur a charge if you are "roaming" (Not using your bank) and that could be a double whammy. Your bank might charge you the switch fee and the ATM owner usually charges you for using his machine. ATMs are a cash cow for banks and independent operators but actually setting one up and maintaining it isn't cheap.

[Ed Pawlowski]

It can be but often you can work around. If you have enough money in the bank they will reimburse the fees. If you buy something at many stores you can get cash back with no charge. WalMart allows $100.

In Europe you may still get hit with a charge, bit is is the same if you take 10 Euro or 300 Euro so take the maximum.

[gfretwell]

I will use a Debit if I want cash back but I get points with my credit card so I usually use that. I seldom use the ATM. I have plenty of money in the bank but none of them reimburse me for the charge you get using a no name ATM. They do eat the switch fee tho.

[Rod Speed]

I never do. I do still need some cash because while I can pay anyone with a cellphone number, it isnt worth trying to explain that to a seller at a garage/yard sale with a queue of those paying for what they want.

I use supermarket checkouts to get cash. The chain I prefer to use for that has Withdraw Cash as one of the two icons on the self checkouts and you don't need to buy anything to get cash.

Half of mine do and with one of them its world wide too.

[gfretwell]

I really spend less than $20-30 in cash every month and some months not even that. Westpac partners with one of my banks so I had no problem getting cash in NZ. They have ATMs everywhere. My cards worked too. We charged hotels and car rentals but most of my walking around spending was cash.

[Rod Speed]

I don't spend anything like that apart from at the garage/yard sales. This year just $5 for the whole year and that was last Sunday at the biggest swap meet in my state. Very big queue at the turnstiles as it opened and it was obvious that most were paying the individual with cash so I chose not to slow things down by paying with applepay as I normally do because I couldn't see any obvious machine to pay with.

I don't use cash at all when paying by card is available and the way out system works if you can use a tap and pay card you can use applepay, googlepay or samsungpay.

Yeah, visa and mastercard work everywhere. amex less certainly.

Makes no sense to fart around with cash anymore when a card works. There are still a few special events where particularly the food and drink sellers cant do a card but plenty have cellphone card terminals at those places now. You may have to tell them that you want to use a card because they don't always have it on the countertop because it's a bit easy to steal those and they arent cheap.