>From the Canadian perspective, people can have credit cards (16 digit chip & PIN for Visa/Mastercard, others only 16 digits) and/or bank/interact debit cards (also 16 digit chip&PIN). The former are able to be used online; debit cards are for in-person transactions with very, very few exceptions.
Visa and Mastercard offer prepaid debit cards; however, their purchase fee is typically 10% of the value of the card (a $500 card costs $50) and the currency exchange rates and service charges associated with using a different currency is usually double or triple what banks or Paypal charge. The *real* cost of Wikimania registration using one of those debit cards would be approximately 40% higher than the face value of what Wikimania was actually charging. Unless I miss my guess, scholarships are being paid to people via Paypal. I think that really points to the necessity of accepting at least Paypal as an acceptable alternative payment. Risker On 4 June 2014 14:03, Richard Symonds <[email protected]> wrote: > Roan, > > I don't mean to sound daft, but Chip & PIN cards are (at least here) > MasterCard/Visa > cards with 16-digit numbers. The two are the same? > > The reason people are cautious about giving out bank details is because of > things like this: > http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/permalink/clarksons_account_gets_hacked/ > ... > > Richard Symonds > Wikimedia UK > 0207 065 0992 > > Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and > Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered > Office 4th Floor, Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street, London EC2A 4LT. > United Kingdom. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia > movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who > operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects). > > *Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control > over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.* > > > On 4 June 2014 18:58, Roan Kattouw <[email protected]> wrote: > >> On Jun 4, 2014 10:37 AM, "Michael Snow" <[email protected]> wrote: >> > >> > On 6/4/2014 10:14 AM, Joseph Fox wrote: >> >> >> >> Pretty sure the difference is that in the US, “debit cards” as we >> Brits know them are rare. >> > >> > Not at all, debit cards are a routine feature for checking accounts in >> the US. But yes, if your debit card has a logo for one of the big payment >> processors, then most merchants displaying that logo should be able to >> accept it, even if their transactions use a credit function rather than the >> debit function. >> > >> The problem is that in many continental European countries, >> MasterCard/Visa cards with 16-digit numbers etc are things that most people >> don't have. Payments are made using chip&PIN cards or bank transfer. >> >> I've always been baffled by how hesitant UK-based individuals and >> companies are to give me their bank account information (so I can send them >> money), citing security concerns. >> >> Roan >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimania-l mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimania-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l > >
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