Talk:Visa Electron

Cannot be overdrawn?
I see this mentioned a few times and I'd just like to say that it's simply not true. It is true that it's much harder for the cards to be overdrawn compared to regular Visa cards but I work at a bank where we sell a type of Visa Electron card and we have specifically been told to never guarantee that the card cannot be overdrawn as it has been known happen in certain circumstances. Therefore I think it's wrong to use such strong wording, as it gives a false sense of safety. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.247.11.120 (talk) 14:11, 7 July 2009 (UTC)

Security Vulnerability in India
Visa's use at non-ATM opens a huge yawning gap in its secured use. In brief, customers aren't expected to punch in the PIN at any merchant, nor is the merchant asked to verify the signature. Here are some reports on a blog about this issue:

http://blog.sandipb.net/2005/05/11/beware-of-visa-electron-based-debit-cards/#comment-9461 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.163.198.22 (talk) 05:40, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

wrong uk details!!!!
"The only bank that issues the Visa Electron card in the UK is Halifax and only on certain accounts."

WRONG. I had one from alliance and liecester. issues around 2006 for an under 18 current account. I got upgraded toa visa debit just befoere my 18th birthday

I can also confirm that the Co-Operative bank issue a visa elctron card as I have one myself

Barclays Connect/Electron Cards
Barclays does not issue full Visa Debit cards, branded by Barclays as "Barclays Connect" or "Connect card", to account holders under 18. Barclays does issue the Visa Electron to such customers, and the branding is now the same as the standard Barclays connect card.

However, they still function as Electron cards, and feature embossed numbering. Barclays product holdings on internal systems differentiate between the two as "Connect card" and "Connect (Electronic)".

Electron continues to be issued to individuals with poor financial performance and those under 18.

All Barclays full Connect Cards also act as cheque guarantee cards for either £50, £100 or £250 (for selected customers). As such, these cards are credit scored and thus not issued to the under 18 market or to those with poor credit scores.

This provides an easy way to differentiate between the newer cards which share the same branding. If the card does not feature a cheque guarantee notice in the lower right hand corner of the reverse of the card, then the card is an Electron. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.71.10.28 (talk) 16:43, 22 December 2007 (UTC)

online retaiers that dont use this card?!
perhaps somewhere in the article it should mention thay many retailors do not accept this card for online payments. does anyone know the reason for this. i personally think this article is biast towards Visa. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.13.194.153 (talk) 16:03, 28 December 2006 (UTC).


 * I tried to order train tickets online with GNER and their FAQ says they are bound by a "trade agreement" not to accept the card. They don't go into any further detail, but I hate this crap card, it's like being a second class citizen. Chris 17:36, 4 February 2007 (UTC)


 * GNER don't explain themselves at all well there. The problem is to do with the way in which Electron (and Solo) cards work. They require online authorisation of all transactions from the issuing bank before they can proceed, whereas other cards (eg Visa Delta) have a floor limit below which authorisation is not mandatory. Electron and Solo thus make it impossible to go overdrawn, which is why they're popular among young people - under-18s cannot legally obtain credit.


 * National Rail ticket outlets batch-process their transactions rather than charging each individual card immediately (as it would be extremely expensive to do otherwise) which makes it impossible to accept cards without a floor limit - which in the UK means Electron and Solo. Also, if you're sold a ticket by the guard on a train, they won't have any sort of online connection to the bank so cannot be certain you have the money on your card, which in turn means that they cannot authorise such a transaction.


 * Since it would be very complex to explain in detail that online transactions could be used in some circumstances but not others, and since most tickets are valid on the services of more than one operator, all Train Operating Companies have the same policies. It's worth noting that one or two non-TOC companies selling rail tickets do accept Electron, most notably Eurostar and Megatrain. 86.132.140.80 02:50, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

One airline that positively encourages Visa Electron is www.ryanair.com which at the time of writing (February 2009) 'for a limited period only' is waving the £4.75 per segment 'booking fee' that applies to all other credit and debit cards. This saves a family of four £36 when booking a return flight.


 * I know I'm only a teenager, but I'd love it if Visa Electron could be used to buy online with. I think places like ebay and amazon it can be. I know if you go to HMV, they accept Visa Electron but no-one does online. You know shops, when you buy something, and certain people put their credit/debit card in the machine and press their PIN in. What are those machines called? Oriana is 18:47, 26 March 2007 (UTC)


 * I believe you're referring to Chip and PIN, which is certainly included on some Electron cards (eg the Barclays one pictured in this article) though I don't know whether all of them have it. As for buying online, you're being overly gloomy. While it is true that a number of major retailers still don't accept it, that number is falling. Argos, Boots, B&Q, Ebuyer, Sainsbury's, Virgin and Wilkinsons all take Electron online, for a start. Loganberry (Talk) 00:18, 28 May 2007 (UTC)


 * I had a Visa Electron card issued by Nordea Bank in Norway, and I used it to purchase goods from foreign and domestic (domestic then being Norwegian) e-tailers. I don't remember ever having it rejected for being an Electron card.  85.19.140.9 (talk) 16:41, 8 July 2010 (UTC)

I have one, and didn't even realise it was different to a debit card until I tried to buy something from John Lewis online and couldn't. I've bought stuff from all sorts of online shops before, and used it in shops to pay, get cashback, etc. I think there's a lot of misconceptions about this card.

Unfortunately, Visa Electron isn't issued in many countries, a notable example being Japan. Usually no shops in these countries will accept the Visa Electron card, so people possessing only an Electron card will be blocked from ordering items over the Internet from these countries. As for regular stores, you can still use the regular VISA cash machines to get money to pay with. (Stefan2 00:34, 7 June 2007 (UTC))

I work for a large online retailer in the UK and the reason we do not accept Visa Electron is that for Cardholder Not Present (CNP) transactions Visa Electron must request authorisation from the issuing bank for every transaction, rather than 1 in 1000 as per other cards. Since there is a charge levied by VISA for each one of these authorisation requests, we do not accept these cards as it is not cost-efficient to do so. (User:Anonymous 11:08, 21 August 2009)

available in australia
Visa Electronic only access type cards are available in australia.

http://www.stgeorge.com.au/accounts/transaction/express_freedom.asp?orc=personal —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.59.167.85 (talk) 07:07, 28 January 2007 (UTC).
 * The card is marked with "VISA" (not "Visa Electron"), yet it says in the text that it's online-only. Is Visa Electron Visa's only online-only card, and if so, why does it say "VISA" and not "Visa Electron" on the card? (Stefan2 18:48, 11 August 2007 (UTC))


 * Visa Electron is a debit card, while the Visa online-only cards use the Visa credit card system (thus the Visa label). Also, I think we need to clearify this "Accept All Cards" thing with Australia.  When I was last in Australia (August 2008), I could not use my Visa Electron card anywhere.  And I haven't heard about any change of policy since then.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.65.197.74 (talk) 17:27, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

Also available in Ireland. I live there and have a Visa Electron registered with Ulster Bank. This page is terrible.

Fair use rationale for Image:Visa Electron logo.jpg
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BetacommandBot 11:31, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

Visa Electron issued by Sampath Bank Sri Lanka in 2004
I used a Visa Electron "Credit Card" issued by Sampath Bank Sri Lanka in 2004. It is like any other credit card but could not be used for offline transactions. It did not have the card number and name embossed so it does not make an imprint in the manual/off line transaction machines. I have used it in the United States with no issue. The bank replaced it with a Classic Visa credit card in 2006 and no longer issue them. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Vipulasrilanka (talk • contribs) 01:33, 3 April 2011 (UTC)

Egypt?
In Egypt, Visa Electron (or indeed any debit card) is only authorized to be used as ATM or physical merchant debiting card. i.e. they're not online enabled by default. Only a credit card (and online payment-enabled one, nonetheless) can be used for purchases on the internet, which is very difficult and expensive to issue to the average consumer --Abderrahman (talk) 19:49, 7 November 2014 (UTC)