Let me walk you through a typical shopping trip to illustrate the difference between payment options. Last Saturday’s agenda: pick up the dry cleaning, find a new car seat for my granddaughter, buy some groceries at the local Harris Teeter, and bring home lunch for my family. In my tool belt (read “wallet”): a Members Credit Union Cash Card and Visa Debit Card.
I started my travels on Winston-Salem’s Stratford Road being careful to avoid the drivers who insist on multi-tasking (the bumper sticker “Hang Up and Drive” could not be more appropriate). Arriving at the dry cleaners, I received a bill for $31.28. Three payment options were available: cash, credit, or debit. With only $12.00 or so in my wallet, the cash option would not work, so I needed to decide between using my Cash Card (debit transaction) or my Visa Debit Card (credit transaction). Knowing that a Cash Card transaction requires a retailer be on the Star Network, I look for the Star logo. There it was, right on the cash register. Easy decision for me, then; small transaction amount, retailer accepts cards on the Star Network, I use the Cash Card and type in my PIN.
Now it’s off to Target to find a car seat. The intersection of Stratford Road and Hanes Mall Road never fails to produce amazing human behavior. The game, it seems, is to see how many people can run a red light. There were many winners this day – I was not among them.
My bewilderment about the overwhelming number of car seats must have been glaringly obvious because a friendly Target employee quickly offered her assistance to me.
“I’m looking for a Zephyr car seat.” I told the nice lady, remembering my wife’s strict instructions.
“Oh, a Graco Platinum Zephyr Cargo Forward-Facing Car Seat?” she asked.
“Uhhhhh…yeah.”
The cashier scanned my purchase and informed me of the damage: $106.99 with tax. Target accepts cards in the Star Network, so my Cash Card was still in play. However, this was a purchase of returnable items. With my Visa Debit Card I can get what are called “chargeback rights”. This is a fancy term for consumer protection. With chargeback rights, I can dispute charges to my card for a variety of reasons: product/service was damaged, not delivered in a timely manner, or the purchase was not authorized. If this car seat turns out to be defective, and Target disallows a return or exchange, I could use the power of Visa to help me pursue a refund. This was an easy decision: I pressed credit, swiped my card, and signed the receipt.
Then it was off to Harris Teeter for bread, milk, and some random other groceries (four words: Cherry Garcia ice cream). I zoomed down the aisles like a Cub Scout in a soapbox derby, my empty stomach reminding me of the time Mafia-style. Shopping while hungry is a serious offense, to be sure, and may cause full shopping carts and depleted checking account balances. I resisted as well as could be expected, laboring into the checkout lane with “only” $53.17 of groceries.
I knew that I still had to stop and pick up lunch, so this payment method would be an easy choice. There was no way the $12.00 in my pocket would buy lunch for four, so I needed to pick the option that allowed cash back from my purchase. The only way to do this with a Members Credit Union plastic is to use the “ATM/debit” option with a Cash Card. The Visa Debit Card will not allow this type of transaction. So, I informed the cashier I would like cash back, pressed “ATM/Debit” on the POS terminal, swiped my Cash Card, and entered my Cash Card PIN.
With $52.00 now in my pocket, I needed only to drive over to Moe’s Southwest Grill to unofficially be crowned the weekend’s King of Shop. I placed my order, paid $29.46, and drove home to receive my reward.
“Jack, you forgot the laundry detergent.”