Debit card "credit"?

Question

I've always wondered why when you use a debit card for a purchase, the transaction doesnt go through unless you say its credit.

Answer 1

itl go thru either way. the only difference between debit and credit is that with debit you can get money back, so say the total was $6.00 and you wanted to pay $10.00 so you could get $4.00 back in cash.

Answer 2

because this enables immedite debit to your account

Answer 3

A debit card should always give you the option of pin based or credit based transactions at the point of sale. Some vendors may not accept one or the other based on their merchant services provider, but that is highly unusual.

If you are having issues using a pin i would request a replacement card and see if that solves the problem. If you have a debit card with rewards (miles/points/etc) you want to use credit anyhow because that's the only way you collect those points.

If Wells seems to be an issue across the board for may of you, I would switch banks. By using credit features on a debit card the transaction 'floats' instead of clearing immediately. This can create a sense of having more money than you actually do. Most people use online banking  now and not a check register and this can cause confusion. The bank is hoping you will use the credit feature and miscalculate your account balance and go OD/NSF so they can collect the fees. Pin based comes out immediately so it is easier to monitor your account balance if all you use is a PIN, so you're less likely to OD/NSF.

If it doesn't Pin and the new card doesn't pin either, change banks.

Answer 4

I'm not sure.  My debit card is the same way.  It doesn't work if I put it in as a debit and try to enter my PIN, but it works fine if I say it's credit.  I use Wells Fargo and most of my friends have the same problem.

Answer 5

It will go through either way debit or credit.

Answer 6

Uh....the transaction does go through, you just have to type in your pin number. I use a debt card for all purchases because it's attached to my bank account and I don't carry cash.