How to use Canadian Visa at U.S. gas pumps?

[Carol H]

Well the problem is that if you carry cash on shopping trips and have your wallet or purse stolen then the cash is gone and you probable will never know who took it, in order to have a chat.

If you use your bank card instead of carrying cash and someone steals it out of the bank you at least get the cash back from the bank.... not gonna happen with a pick pocket.

[Roger C H]

Have you heard of the Archdiocese of Seattle hacking?

My wife used to work for them and the IRS sent us a letter asking for information on our filed return. Two problems: We haven't filed our return yet, and there was a name with my wife's that we don't recognize.

[Glenn Baglo]

When you get one of those Phishing emails from a "bank" or "IRS", you can, for your entertainment, place your cursor over the link that they want you to click.
Don't click, just place the cursor there, and it will show you the actual address you would go to if you clicked on it.
Some of those addresses are crafted to look like a legit address, but you can tell they are not.
Basically. Delete them all. If it is your bank, they'll send you a letter or phone you. And if they do, you can just say, I'll call you back. Look up the phone number for your local branch and call that. Phone number for credit card is on the back of the card.

[Luc Riezebos]

My experience this winter with the pumps is that most machines would not accept my postal codes and so I soon learned to just go inside and prepay. Even though my visa was an U.S. RBC bank. I found this to be pretty consistent throughout all the states I drove through.

Sent from my Arc using Fiberglass RV mobile app

[Cam A]

I always tried debit card first, which seldom worked. Visa next, with the numbers from postal code followed by zeros, which worked a fair amount of the time. Walking in was always the last resort.

[Carol H]

The funny part is I prefer to use my debate as it has the higher level of safety on it in regards to how much can be withdrawn against it on any given day. I have been successful in using debate cards with pins on them all over the world for the last 15 to 20 years, assuming the card has a number of different symbols on it indicating it works on many of the banking networks used by banks around the world. I also have no trouble using it at many of the bigger US drive through bank machines to withdraw cash but not on locally run bank machines (i.e. a bank that operates only in one or two states for example). But when it comes to small gas stations and Mom and Pop stores & even some of the big chain stores unless they have undated their system in recent years it would not work. Not sure why but in my experience I have had trouble using the debate card system in the US more than any other country I have visited. For many years I would get a blank look if I asked if I could use a debate card. Seemed many of the cashers didn't even know what one was. Which I found a little odd & still don't really know the answer as to why that is. Have noticed though that over the past couple of years that seems to be changing fairly quickly. As of a few months ago I can now use my debate card at one large US chain store south of me that I had not been able to use it at previously, as well as one of the smaller gas stations that I previously couldn't use it at.

[Cam A]

Canada has national banks, so debit cards have been around for quite a while, and are pretty much universally accepted. As Visa and other national companies develop debit networks in the US, it's getting wider implementation.

[Roy in TO]

I'm still not sure how it works but my debit card is Visa enabled. If the supplier does not take debit cards the transaction goes through as a Visa purchase on their end and a debit transaction on mine.
Visa Personal Cards and Products | Visa.ca
The key difference I see is that a Visa debit transaction falls under the Visa layers of protection, where the straight debit transaction goes through Interac which has its own but different levels of protection.

From the CIBC website:
What is Visa Debit?

Similar to the way INTERAC Direct Payment allows you to access the money in your account to pay for purchases in Canada, Visa Debit allows you to access your own money, withdrawn directly from your account, through the Visa network to make purchases internationally, online, by phone or by mail order.

OK, after a bit of searching, I found out how to use the darn thing.
https://www.cibc.com/ca/how-to-bank/...ntagecard.html

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Cam A

Canada has national banks, so debit cards have been around for quite a while, and are pretty much universally accepted. As Visa and other national companies develop debit networks in the US, it's getting wider implementation.

Yup I suspect that has a lot to do with it but the main big 3 banks in Canada are actually more International than national which does not hurt