Mon 25 Jan 2010
No More Plain ATM Cards?
Posted by RichSlick under Observations
[3] Comments
I walked into the credit union office and requested to open a new account. The standard process was fairly mundane except when we came to the part where the rep asks me if I want a debit (visa/mastercard) branded card.  I said no, I want a plain ATM card. “Sorry, we don’t offer those anymore.”
It must have been a fairly new policy because the form she gave me had a check box with “ATM Card” written right on it and I pointed that out to her and she said that they just don’t offer them anymore.
Well it’s no problem for me as I have basically stopped using ATM’s after Chase ruined them and I generally have other methods to obtain cash when I need it. There is no way in hell I’m ever using a debit card as long as credit cards are around.  Why in hell would I want to risk losing funds from my bank account when I can lay that loss off on the credit card company?
Ultimately, I’m glad the credit union didn’t issue an ATM card since that means there’s only a couple of ways to get money out of there so perhaps it is a new layer of security to keep my money semi-safe.
I too only want an ATM card. I was lucky in that HSBC offers one. This is very handy to have if you have to travel to Asia as many countries have branches and you avoid a whole lotta fees since you are using your bank.
Care to explain the point/purpose of having a non-V/MC plain ATM card? I really don’t understand. I had some in the old days but have switched over. Is this for security reasons?
As soon as you slap a V/MC logo on a ATM card it becomes usable by nearly anyone who has possession of it. It is a HUGE security risk and yeah I’ve heard it before, “The bank will recover/restore your funds…blah…blah..blah”
Think about it, if someone steals your credit card and charges up 10k you owe NOTHING when the bill comes due if you dispute it. The burden is on the CREDIT CARD company to recover/restore the money or worse the merchant.
If someone steals your V/MC debit card, money IMMEDIATELY leaves your bank account. The burden is on YOU to recover the money.
I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard from co-workers who had their accounts frozen when reporting a stolen debit card. Bank of America is the worst. Just google some debit card horror stories….