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Laser card

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  • 04-06-2005 4:12pm
    #1
    esperanza
    Closed Accounts Posts: 689 ✭✭✭


    I have a BOI account and want to get a Laser card. I was refused when I asked a few months ago because I didn't have regular payments into my account. What if you're a student, and don't have any income???

    What does one have to do to get a Laser card? Apparently, there is a lot of abuse of these cards.

    In Germany you get the equivalent of a Laser card - EC card - on opening your account. No need to prove a regular salary. Then again, the Germans are a more honest bunch than the Irish...

    Anyone know what bank bureaucracy is like in Italy?


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    #2
    Solair
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,230 ✭✭✭Solair


    The problem with Laser is that it's not very high tech and transactions that you make with your Laser card may not be processed immediately. i.e. the transactions can be authorised "off-line". For this reason, it's possible that you can spend money using your Laser card when you haven't got sufficient funds in your account. i.e. if you had no money in your account, your Laser card may continue to let you make purchases as it doesn't check the balance of your account and the transactions won't be sent to the bank for several days. If this happens, the bank still has to honour the transactions so you will have an unauthorised overdraft and will end up paying very high interest etc etc. Creates a bit of an administrative problem for the bank, so they don't want to offer the service to people who are likely to have insufficient funds.

    This is changing however, AIB offer a Maestro debit card without a Laser facility. Apparently, this processes ALL transactions on-line and so you don't have to have a regular income or be creditworthy.

    I'm not 100% sure about the details of the AIB product as I've only heard about it second hand. So, perhaps it might be worth asking them about it.

    A similar scenario exsists in the UK:
    Switch is identical to Laser card in terms of how it operates and may not be offered to all customers.
    It's sister product "SOLO" authorises every transaction so you can't spend more than you have so this card's available to everyone with a current account.

    The Irish banks have been incrediably slow with electronic payment cards. Laser was launched very late, pre the mid 1990s we had no debit card system at all. Rather than pushing the product and enhancing it the banks seemed to try and make sure that as few people as possible could qualify for a Laser card and make a huge deal out of providing the facility.

    Likewise, if you're a student / have just opened a current account getting an overdraft is next to impossible.

    In general Irish banks just haven't been very innovative with electronic products.

    The new AIB product is branded under the Maestro name only and appears to be set up to authorise every transaction to ensure that you have sufficient balance. Obviously, AIB have invested in new computer systems.


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    #3
    esperanza
    Closed Accounts Posts: 689 ✭✭✭esperanza


    Thank you for your posting. I did some googling and can't find any mention of AIB's Maestro debit card. However, National Irish Bank do offer this facility.


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    #4
    Solair
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,230 ✭✭✭Solair


    esperanza wrote:
    Thank you for your posting. I did some googling and can't find any mention of AIB's Maestro debit card. However, National Irish Bank do offer this facility.

    AIB's card is very new. It's taking advantage of the fact that the terminals are now up-to-date thanks to chip and pin roll out. So they can handle authorisations slightly more efficiently.


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    #5
    shoegirl
    Registered Users Posts: 2,018 ✭✭✭shoegirl


    I had that problem some years ago when I'd just had a few bad financial months. A Ulster bank ATM in Rathmines swallowed up my BOI laser card and when I phoned for a replacement they sent me out a bog standard atm card.

    When I queried why they hadn't replaced like with like they tried to tell me that my account was being being controlled by "customer lending." I told them this was unacceptable, that it wasn't my fault I hit a dodgy atm and I demanded my laser card back. I got one too.

    My suggestion is to go back to your branch and tell them you are closing your account and moving to another bank because they will not offer you a laser card. Generally they get their asses in gear if you threaten to close the account.

    Having said that the AIB offering sounds promising, but then again AIB have some of the highest charges in the banking industry.


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