Some interesting information about a Paypal Debit card

tonsofcommons · Apr 10, 2009

Went to the gas station today and used my Paypal debit card for gas.

Turns out the gas station puts an additional hold on your card if you use a debit card.

In this case, it was $75.

Therefore, my balance was negative and I thought someone had some of my money.

A quick call to PP fixed it, but sure scared me!

Hope you all find this educational.

Kevbo · Apr 10, 2009

That never happened to me, and I use mine all the time.
I like it because it shows your card transactions online Immediately, where as my Wells Fargo card can take up to 3 days to realize (online) that it's been used.

muchuckwagon · Apr 10, 2009

Very common practice with gas stations, hotels...etc.

tonsofcommons said:
Went to the gas station today and used my Paypal debit card for gas.

Turns out the gas station puts an additional hold on your card if you use a debit card.

In this case, it was $75.

Therefore, my balance was negative and I thought someone had some of my money.

A quick call to PP fixed it, but sure scared me!

Hope you all find this educational.

tonsofcommons · Apr 10, 2009

Yeah, I just don't usually pay at the pump and never had a problem before.

chuckbartowski · Apr 10, 2009

Yep...had that happen except it was $99! Paypal will fix it right away, but it also fixes itself after 4 days...I'm never going to use it in that manner again though.

predatorkj · Apr 10, 2009

It does it on my Bank Of America debit card but it only comes up as a $1 hold then magically goes away within 24 hours.

Another thing I did find out though(which I was initially wrong about)...if you go and buy something at a store for say...$1, they can refuse to allow you to pay with your debit or credit card.I had always thought this was wrong because I was always told they were not allowed to do that.And besides, when I get something at the gas station its always normally a can of ***** so it ends up being well over $5 and if I need a paper or some coffee then I just tack it on so I never have any problems.But one morning I tried to get just a paper(still had a fresh can in the truck so I needed only the paper) and the dude would not accept my debit card.I told him it was not a credit card but he still said no.So I decide since I was bored to actually call and ask the bank if they could do that.Apparently they can.So now I know.

zep33 · Apr 10, 2009

don't use it as debit, use it as credit and that will not happen

another reason to use it as credit is it charges the vendor a higher transaction fee as a credit than a debit.

You also get a % cashback if you use it as credit. You get nothing if used as debit.

Only time you should use your card as debit is if you like the store and want to save him a little of the transaction fee or if you want to get cash back at the store

zep33 · Apr 10, 2009

predatorkj said:
It does it on my Bank Of America debit card but it only comes up as a $1 hold then magically goes away within 24 hours.

Another thing I did find out though(which I was initially wrong about)...if you go and buy something at a store for say...$1, they can refuse to allow you to pay with your debit or credit card.I had always thought this was wrong because I was always told they were not allowed to do that.And besides, when I get something at the gas station its always normally a can of ***** so it ends up being well over $5 and if I need a paper or some coffee then I just tack it on so I never have any problems.But one morning I tried to get just a paper(still had a fresh can in the truck so I needed only the paper) and the dude would not accept my debit card.I told him it was not a credit card but he still said no.So I decide since I was bored to actually call and ask the bank if they could do that.Apparently they can.So now I know.

they can try to tell you there is a minimum purchase but that is in violation of their credit card acceptance terms. Next time threaten them with that, if they don't care, a few calls from customers to their banks/cc company will straighten their asses out

predatorkj · Apr 10, 2009

zep33 said:
predatorkj said:

It does it on my Bank Of America debit card but it only comes up as a $1 hold then magically goes away within 24 hours.

Another thing I did find out though(which I was initially wrong about)...if you go and buy something at a store for say...$1, they can refuse to allow you to pay with your debit or credit card.I had always thought this was wrong because I was always told they were not allowed to do that.And besides, when I get something at the gas station its always normally a can of ***** so it ends up being well over $5 and if I need a paper or some coffee then I just tack it on so I never have any problems.But one morning I tried to get just a paper(still had a fresh can in the truck so I needed only the paper) and the dude would not accept my debit card.I told him it was not a credit card but he still said no.So I decide since I was bored to actually call and ask the bank if they could do that.Apparently they can.So now I know.

Click to expand...

they can try to tell you there is a minimum purchase but that is in violation of their credit card acceptance terms. Next time threaten them with that, if they don't care, a few calls from customers to their banks/cc company will straighten their asses out

Well not according to Bank Of America which is exactly who I called.I explained they would take nothing less than a $5 charge or they would not let me complete the transaction using a credit or debit card.The person i spoke with said they have that right as a merchant.I really don't know what else to do.Its also a big reason that a lot of places will not accept discover.I was at a comic show once a few years back and a dude had about $300 worth of stuff I wanted to buy and he told me he took credit cards.I said great and whipped out my Discover.He said he couldn't take it because they charged too much for his liking.So after that and a few other random instances where this occurred I cut the sucker up, paid it off and will never own another one again.

zep33 · Apr 10, 2009

if you have a visa or M/C logo on the card, give them a call. Every merchant that accepts credit cards has a contract with Visa, MC, Discover & Amex (if they accept them) through whoever provides their machine The contacts are not with banks. I doubt M/C would like to hear that the banks bearing their logo are not allowing customers to use their cards. Probably a waste of time anyway though over dollar purchases.

Bornagaincollector · Apr 10, 2009

I've used my paypal debit card for purchases under 5.00 many times with no problem.I did this at the p.o. & local store.

Bob Loblaw · Apr 10, 2009

The law is -- or was, anyway, when I was in school -- that a retailer has the right to refuse use of a credit card for a purchase under $5.00. I don't believe they have that right with a debit card.

lisu · Apr 10, 2009

As a credit card merchant, you have the right to decline the use of credit cards or debit cards for whatever limit you like. The reason? If you make a debit card charge or a credit card charge of say $0.50 - the fees negate the sale. The thing that companies are not allowed to do is charge you their merchant fees. I get into it sometimes with vendors because they want to charge me 3% for using our Company's corporate card. I just go ahead and call AMEX and get them in trouble because it is against the law in many states including California.

Bob Loblaw · Apr 10, 2009

lisu said:
As a credit card merchant, you have the right to decline the use of credit cards or debit cards for whatever limit you like. The reason? If you make a debit card charge or a credit card charge of say $0.50 - the fees negate the sale. The thing that companies are not allowed to do is charge you their merchant fees. I get into it sometimes with vendors because they want to charge me 3% for using our Company's corporate card. I just go ahead and call AMEX and get them in trouble because it is against the law in many states including California.

As I said, I believe Visa and MC allows the merchant to allow no transactions less than $5. I'll research this when I get a chance.

zep33 · Apr 10, 2009

LOL - this has nothing to do with "laws." If you ever refuse to accept a credit card for any amount whatsoever, you are in violation of your credit card acceptance agreements. Period, end of story.

http://consumerist.com/tag/credit-cards ... redit-card

VISA says:

"Imposing minimum or maximum purchase amounts in order to accept a Visa card transaction is a violation of the Visa rules"

Mastercard says:

A Merchant must not require, or indicate that it requires, a minimum or maximum Transaction amount to accept a valid and properly presented Card"

If Merchants Break These Rules, You Can Report Them To The Credit Card Company
Here's Mastercard's Merchant Violation form. To report merchant violations to VISA, they ask that you report them to the financial institution that issued you your Visa card. You should be able to find the number your on Visa statement or on the back of your card.

http://www.mastercard.com/us/personal/e ... tions.html

MOFNY · Apr 10, 2009

muchuckwagon said:
Very common practice with gas stations, hotels...etc.

tonsofcommons said:

Went to the gas station today and used my Paypal debit card for gas.

Turns out the gas station puts an additional hold on your card if you use a debit card.

In this case, it was $75.

Therefore, my balance was negative and I thought someone had some of my money.

A quick call to PP fixed it, but sure scared me!

Hope you all find this educational.

Click to expand...

We do it here at the resort.

lisu · Apr 10, 2009

I suggest you look up an actual Visa or Mastercard merchant agreement rather than just any random web site.

zep33 said:
LOL - this has nothing to do with "laws." If you ever refuse to accept a credit card for any amount whatsoever, you are in violation of your credit card acceptance agreements. Period, end of story.

http://consumerist.com/tag/credit-cards ... redit-card

VISA says:

"Imposing minimum or maximum purchase amounts in order to accept a Visa card transaction is a violation of the Visa rules"

Mastercard says:

A Merchant must not require, or indicate that it requires, a minimum or maximum Transaction amount to accept a valid and properly presented Card"

If Merchants Break These Rules, You Can Report Them To The Credit Card Company
Here's Mastercard's Merchant Violation form. To report merchant violations to VISA, they ask that you report them to the financial institution that issued you your Visa card. You should be able to find the number your on Visa statement or on the back of your card.

http://www.mastercard.com/us/personal/e ... tions.html

mazarazz · Apr 10, 2009

lisu said:
I suggest you look up an actual Visa or Mastercard merchant agreement rather than just any random web site.

zep33 said:

LOL - this has nothing to do with "laws." If you ever refuse to accept a credit card for any amount whatsoever, you are in violation of your credit card acceptance agreements. Period, end of story.

http://consumerist.com/tag/credit-cards ... redit-card

VISA says:

"Imposing minimum or maximum purchase amounts in order to accept a Visa card transaction is a violation of the Visa rules"

Mastercard says:

A Merchant must not require, or indicate that it requires, a minimum or maximum Transaction amount to accept a valid and properly presented Card"

If Merchants Break These Rules, You Can Report Them To The Credit Card Company
Here's Mastercard's Merchant Violation form. To report merchant violations to VISA, they ask that you report them to the financial institution that issued you your Visa card. You should be able to find the number your on Visa statement or on the back of your card.

http://www.mastercard.com/us/personal/e ... tions.html

Click to expand...

The consumerist is a fairly well known/reputable site actually. They've got some good info and jumping off points but as always double check any information you find on a third party site.

lisu · Apr 10, 2009

mazarazz said:
The consumerist is a fairly well known/reputable site actually. They've got some good info and jumping off points but as always double check any information you find on a third party site.

There are a ton of merchants out there that have minimum charges posted. It may be a simple matter of if they post what their minimum charge is - that they have to right to deny your business. I'm sure they may be in violation of their merchant card agreement, but really - I've never heard of anyone losing their merchant card business for requiring a minimum purchase.

Tomlinson21RB · Apr 10, 2009

zep33 said:
don't use it as debit, use it as credit and that will not happen

another reason to use it as credit is it charges the vendor a higher transaction fee as a credit than a debit.

You also get a % cashback if you use it as credit. You get nothing if used as debit.

Only time you should use your card as debit is if you like the store and want to save him a little of the transaction fee or if you want to get cash back at the store

Gas stations around me have started charging 10 cents more per gallon if you pay with credit. If you pay with debit you don't get a hold on your account and pay the normal rate.

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