Name at least two ways that a MasterCard Debit Card helps with money management.
- It saves time – faster than writing a check and waiting for authorization
- You get a receipt with every purchase
- It’s an easier and more convenient way to pay than with cash or checks
- You typically avoid any finance charges (unless you activate an overdraft line of credit)
- Your monthly statement includes a detailed listing of every purchase along with your deposits, transfers, paid checks, and ATM transactions
- Instead of sharing one checkbook, each joint account holder gets his or her own MasterCard debit card
Name at least three benefits of using a MasterCard debit card.
- With one card, you can shop, get cash and take care of everyday banking needs
- It’s a fast and easy way to shop at over 19 million locations worldwide
- It’s convenient and safe, eliminating the need to carry a lot of cash or a bulky checkbook
- It avoids the hassle of a check approval process
- It helps simplify money management – you get receipts and all transactions are detailed on your monthly account statement
- A replacement card can be obtained if it is lost or stolen, unlike cash
True or False? With a MasterCard debit card, I no longer need my standard ATM card.
TRUE. The MasterCard debit card does everything your old ATM card did like getting cash or taking care of everyday banking needs – plus it can be used to shop at over 19 million MasterCard locations worldwide, placing mail and telephone orders, and making purchases over the Internet.
When I use a MasterCard debit card for shopping, how do I authorize the transaction at the time of purchase? Is there more than one acceptable way?
Yes. Merchants can process the card in one of two ways – it depends on their terminal setup and which transaction method is used. Merchants accept the MasterCard debit card like any other MasterCard card, and the cardholder signs the sales slip. Or, the cardholder can enter a PIN, just like an ATM transaction. The only information provided to the merchant by the issuer is the transaction authorization.
True or False? When I make purchases with a MasterCard debit card, merchants have access to my account information.
FALSE. The merchant knows only whether the transaction is authorized. Specific cardholder information such as your PIN or account balances are never revealed.
True or False? With a joint account each person automatically receives one checkbook and one MasterCard debit card.
FALSE. Joint account holders may have to share one checkbook but each person on the account can receive his or her own MasterCard debit card.
True or False? A MasterCard debit card can only be used in the United States.
FALSE. A MasterCard debit can can be used for purchases wherever MasterCard is accepted – at more than 19 million merchants worldwide. In fact, it’s very convenient to have while traveling. In addition to shopping, you can use your MasterCard debit card to access cash in the local currency at ATMs all over the world. To see where cards are accepted, just look for ATMs displaying logos that match those on the card – like Maestro and Cirrus. Using the MasterCard debit card for shopping and cash access abroad can give you a more favorable exchange rate than other sources of foreign currency (i.e. airport counters, hotels, bureaux de change).
Where can a MasterCard debit card be used? In how many places?
The MasterCard debit card can be used wherever MasterCard is accepted for payment – at over 19 million locations worldwide, including department stores, supermarkets, gas stations, restaurants and discount stores. It can also be used to place mail and telephone orders, and to make purchases on the Internet.
What happens if I try to make a purchase with my MasterCard debit card and the total amount is more than the available balance in my account?
In most cases, the purchase won’t be authorized if there are not enough funds to cover the purchase amount. However, if your account is linked to an overdraft line of credit and you exceed the available funds in your account, you’ll activate the overdraft line. Normal fees and changes will apply to the borrowed amount.
What do I do if the merchant's terminal provides a choice between "debit" and "credit"?
Choose either one. Selecting “debit” or “credit” determines how the merchant processes the transaction, not how you pay for it. If you push “debit,” you will enter your PIN. If you push “credit,” you will sign the sales slip. Push the credit button to have the transaction processed over the MasterCard network, or push the debit button to have the transaction processed over the Maestro network.
True or False? I can use my MasterCard debit card to have recurring bills, like utilities and membership dues, paid automatically from my account.
TRUE. It’s easy and convenient to set up an automatic payment schedule so that all your recurring monthly charges are billed right to your MasterCard debit card. Payments are automatically made from your account and listed on your monthly statement. There are no checks to write, no stamps to buy – just more free time for you!
True or False? A MasterCard debit card can be used for shopping at MasterCard merchants and for getting cash at ATMs all over the world.
TRUE. A MasterCard debit card is a payment card displaying the MasterCard brand mark that accesses a consumer’s account. The MasterCard debit card enables you to get cash and perform daily banking transactions at hundreds of thousands of ATMs. Thanks to Cirrus and Maestro, you also have cash access to ATMs around the world.
The MasterCard debit card can also be used to shop at over 19 million places worldwide that welcome MasterCard. To see where the card is accepted, just match the brand marks on the card to those displayed at merchants and ATMs.
What is the process for making a purchase using my MasterCard debit card?
- Present your card to the merchant.
- Merchant (or cardholder) slides card through terminal slot.
- Merchant requests transaction authorization through MasterCard network via terminal or telephone.
- Merchant processes transactions like all other MasterCard purchases and enters total.
- For signature-based transactions: Merchant prints out or completes sales slip. Cardholder verifies amount, signs and receives receipt.
- For PIN-based Maestro debit transactions: Customer verifies amount and enters PIN at terminal and receives receipt.
- Merchant prints out or completes sales slip. You receive a receipt.
Once the transaction is processed, the amount of the purchase is deducted from your account. The transaction will appear on your next monthly account statement.
How am I protected if my MasterCard debit card is lost or stolen?
With MasterCard’s Zero Liability, your liability for unauthorized transactions is $0 provided you exercise reasonable care in safeguarding your card, your account is in good standing, and you haven’t reported two or more events of unauthorized use in the past 12 months.
Can I use a MasterCard debit card for catalog and Internet orders?
Yes you can! A MasterCard debit card can be used for purchases wherever MasterCard is accepted. And since your transactions does not require a PIN for authorization the way a standard ATM card does, you can also use your MasterCard debit card for purchases by telephone or on the Internet.
True or False? All purchases made with a MasterCard debit card will be billed to my account and I won't have to pay for them until the end of the month.
FALSE. Every time you shop with a MasterCard debit card, the purchase amount is deducted from your account automatically after the transaction is completed and processed. Like a check, you should assume that once the purchase is made, the funds are not available. You will receive a detailed listing of purchases along with deposits, transfers, checks paid and ATM transactions on your monthly account statement.
How does a MasterCard debit card work?
A MasterCard debit card combines all the capabilities of a standard ATM card (such as cash access and conducting banking transactions) with the ability to shop at over 19 million merchants worldwide, wherever MasterCard is accepted. Every time you make a purchase, the transaction amount is automatically deducted from your account.
What is Cirrus?
Cirrus is a part of the MasterCard family of payment brands. The Cirrus brand mark on your debit card allows you to access your account in the MasterCard/Maestro/Cirrus ATM network:
- You can get cash from over 600,000 ATMs in more than 100 countries worldwide, so there’s no need to carry a lot of cash when traveling.
- Withdrawals are processed automatically, and every transaction is listed on a monthly statement.
- It provides very favorable exchange rates for cash withdrawals abroad.
Cirrus has consistently stood for superior product, reliable network operations and dependable service. It has the strongest brand awareness among consumers of any debit/ATM card on the market today.
True or False? Once I receive my MasterCard debit card, I should throw away my checks.
FALSE. You can still use your checks, although once your experience the ease and convenience of using a MasterCard debit card, you’ll probably use fewer checks for purchases. You can also use your MasterCard debit card for automatic payment of recurring bills, such as utilities and membership fees, to further reduce check usage.
What is Maestro? What is a cash back option?
Maestro is part of the MasterCard family of payment brands. The Maestro brand mark on your debit card enables you to make purchases at more than 3 million merchants allover the world and to obtain cash at ATMs worldwide, using a PIN to make transactions.
With Maestro, you can take advantage of a cash back option that lets you request more than the purchase amount and receive the difference back in cash at participating merchants.
