When I swipe a credit card/debit card at a shop, who manages the authentication?
464364
this authorization is done electronically but goes through the companies which have issued you the card
212023
In terms of credit / debit cards, the point of sale means the cash register. Whenever you go to a store and they have those card-swiping machines right at the register, that's a POS terminal.
68485
Hi - that depends entirely on the payee, with which bank his credit card merchant account is, which point of sale machine the merchant uses-and on how that person does business.  Many credit card merchants do not process their transactions daily-some wait till they have a certain dollar amount or certain number of transactions and then make their 'deposit' of a group of transactions. Others have arrangements for their transactions to be automatically processed (these are usually very high usage merchants).  A good example of this: when you use your credit card at gas stations, regardless of whether it is a holiday or not, you will see your transaction immediately from some stations and a day or two later from others.  In addition, you may see a $1-3 charge on your account that is a 'holder' amount to verify to the merchant's processor that the card used is valid; this small amt vanishes when the real cost of the gas goes through.
880818
I am not sure about where you are, but in the UK a retailer is free to set whatever limit they want for charge cards - often £5 minimum payment.\n\nAs for ID, if the person was purchasing alcohol for example, they may be REQUIRED to see ID, credit card or not.\n\nIf the retailer feels the card may be stolen, they should do a "code 10" call - iirc - to check the card's validity
94689
A merchant account allows you to accept credit cards from customers at your business.   Once you have a merchant account, you then have to program your credit card machine (or software, or ecommerce site) with the merchant account information.  Now when a sale is made, the card is approved or declined, and the funds are deposited into your checking account.  Note: your checking account or bank account is different from a merchant account. There are rates and fees associated with accepting a credit card from your customers.  For example, if a customer uses a check card at your store for $100 and the rate is 1.39%, then $1.39 comes out and $98.61 is deposited into your account.  It costs money to accept plastic from customers.
558797
Look for basic marks of online security. Like secure page, how is your credit card transaction treated, check the certificate  and the kind. \n\nGood luck mate. Make sure you always have a seperate credit card only for online transactions.
99912
with a credit or debith card, yet make sure the site is secured by looking at the prefix of the page that it should start with https//www.  and the name of the page. Now, you can also send a Mo or Cashier's check. Remember the best way to protect from identity theft is not giving yourself away.
478035
call the 1-800 number on the back of the card to customer service to set up the pin.
254765
When a merchant swipes your card, the deivce either dials up or connects to a server operated by the bank used by the merchant for credit card processing.  It in turn accesses Mastercard's account database to confirm the availability of funds.  \n\nAssuming funds are available, the merchant bank approves the transaction and posts an authorization or hold to the credit card holder's account.  This "hold" is only temporary until the actual transaction is processed by card holder's bank--just like a check.\n\nAt the end of the business day, the merchant will usually complete a process with their merchant bank to finalize or post all credit card transactions that day.  In this way, a transaction that may have been subsequently voided by the merchant will not be posted and the hold will usually be removed.  This is the case in some, but not all transactions.\n\nOnce the merchant bank receives the posted transactions, it credits them to the merchant's account, less a small commission of 2-3% that the merchant bank retains as its revenue for acting as the merchant's agent with Mastercard.  I believe the bank in turn pays a commission or fee to Mastercard for each transaction processed.\n\nAnywhere from one to three days following purchase, the physical credit card transaction is processed by the card holder's bank and the hold is removed.  Should the transaction not be completed, the card holder bank will eventually remove the hold--but it can often take 10 days for that to occur.
980963
Does the debit card have a credit card symbol (Visa or MasterCard are the most common) on it?  If you have one of those, you can use the debit card wherever the CC symbol you have is accepted - including online if the merchant you are purchasing from accepts your CC.
551658
Stopping the charge on your credit card isn't going to stop the creditor from coming after you. It just means they have to sue you for it.  \n\nThey will also be able to locate your credit report and place a report on it, even without a SSN.  They have other matching info, like phone number, address, and more.  \n\nThose gym/spa memberships are tightly worded, I wish people would read them more carefully before signing them.
276020
I like the self-service checkouts.  I don't have to deal with anyone.  Just scan my stuff, pay, and leave.\n\nIn the not-too-distant future, all store items will have RFID and you'll be able to just walk out of the store with your stuff and your bank account will automaticaly be appropriately debited.
1147912
The banks charge the merchants and stores a fee (around 2-3%) for providing the equipment and the verification system any time someone scans a card and so on, so the store loses out slightly, but they don't have to deal with checks, which take forever to clear.\n\nThe credit card companies like Mastercard are owned by the banks.  For example, MC is owned by 25000 different banks, so I'm not sure if they actually pay the MC corporation but they might.\n\nAMEX is slightly different because it's a whole separate company.  They just charge a higher fee to the merchants, which is why some don't take AMEX and do take Visa/MC.
727764
They always check IDs when I've voted. How else will they verify who you are? It is totally necessary to avoid someone walking in and saying they are you.
732973
If its automated, it depends on the system they have. Most often they look at the address, credit card number, expiration date -- if any of these three do not match your records the system will not accept the card. Check if you got the expiration and credit card number correctly.\n\nWith some shopping cart systems, they have some fraud protection measures and they raise a red flag if your telephone area code is not the same as the area code for your specified address. They also look at the IP address and match it with the address you gave. If they don't match, that's a red flag
953283
Yes.  This verifies that you have the card in your posession.  This prevents anyone with just your credit card number from using it.   If somesone steals your card and uses it, you can always dispute the charges.  I have been victim in credit card theft and it is really no big deal.  The card companies have always taken care of me.
1169311
call the number on the back of card, and ask