have been attempting to use my card here in calgary, when i go to atm its fine i put in my 4 digits and hey presto! when i try to use it to buy an item for example i was in winners the other day buying a few things and i entered my 4 digits and it wouldnt allow it. WHy is this? Or do i need to put zero zero in front of my pin number?

Its so much easier just handing your card over for transactions than taking out too much money each time. Thanks

Tills in Canada generally only accept the interac brand (forget about visa that is a different system) but ultimately interac doesn't really exist in the UK so your cards wont work over here.

ah thanks- what a pain! ATM's it is then!

I have no idea about Electron - acceptance of that seems tricky enough in the UK - but assuming it would work, you shouldn't be entering a PIN, you should tell the cashier it's a credit not debit transaction.

Visa electron is a debit card not a credit card it is like a solo card you have to have the money in the account to use it they are chip and pin now and you have to put in your pin for shop transactions

Yes we know thats how debit works, Interac here has been enter pin for as long as Ive been here, however Electron is a UK debit card and personally I cant see how a Canadian store would be able to accept it as they would have to communicate with the UK bank system as if you were in the UK just like Interac here communicates with the Canadian bank system.

Visa (wether credit or debit) works on a different premise in that its international and recognised by banks around the world and hence your able to get money out of an ATM here with a UK visa (debit or credit).

After all you cant go into a US store and purchase on Interac in my experience let alone the UK or vice versa.

Yes but it's processed as a Visa transaction which is why I said to present it as a Visa card, not a debit card. It's rare to be asked for a PIN on a foreign credit card but it does happen. Electron might not be accepted overseas anyway, but if it is, it'll be as a Visa credit transaction, not a debit one.

Mikey, some Canadian debit cards are accepted in some US stores - Scotia debit works in Target, US Best Buy... I can't link from here but look in the archive and you'll find what the network is called.

Yeah Id heard Scotia works in some. Im with TD and tried them in various stores in NYC, Chicago, Seattle etc with no luck so must be a TD thing to be so universally declined.

No biggie to use visa down there anyway. Plus its a fun way to get wallet bulge and fill it with US $1 bills How I love that!

I will try to explain how it works...

Debit cards no matter who makes it (visa, switch or mastercards) all have to go through the same systems...these systems are called Cirrus, Maestro or interac...I'm sure there's more but i don't know any.

Tills in Canada only reads Interac, Tills in Europe generally read either Cirrus or Meastro...I have never been to the states so i am not sure what there tills read.

But if it says on the back of your card Cirrus/Meastro/Interac then you should be able to use that card anywhere in the world...

If your card only says interac it can only be used in Canada (or anywhere else that reads interac)

Most British cards will not be set up for the interac system which is why you cannot use them in Canadian stores. But the ATMs... when you next go to one you will see all of the logos such as Cirrus/Meastro therefore you know it will read your card.

Hope i made sense...

No, Cirrus/Maestro is a MasterCard brand, I'm banging on about Visa. You can use a UK Visa debit card as Visa over here, it's processed like a normal Visa (credit) transaction as far as the retailer is concerned, and it's handled like a normal (Visa) debit as far as your bank is concerned. Just don't tell them it's debit or they'll try and process it as an Interac transaction which isn't going to work. But whether an Electron works abroad like other Visa debits, I don't know... I've seen enough signs in the UK saying "Solo and Electron not accepted" to make me think it might be problematic abroad, but I'm not sure. OP, google your bank and read their info.

The link I couldn't post earlier for MikeyB is http://www.nyce.net/consumers/crossb...rderdebit.html - you can use some Canadian debit cards in some US retailers

I feel like Im a naughty schoolboy in trouble being called MikeyB

Hmm and i feel like i am at the bottom of the class