Some vendors declining to accept Monzo

If you have a contactless POS and the customer wants to pay by contactless card but the retailer says no and wants the customer to pay but chip and pin for whatever reason, is that against MC terms and conditions?

TBH, I don’t know.

If I, as a retailer, am prepared to accept MasterCard, then inviting a customer to use Chip&PIN to pay is my prerogative. I may choose to do this if I’m unsure they’re the owner of the card and I wish to protect myself from Contactless fraud that may result in a chargeback.

Similarly, if I, as a retailer, choose to accept cash, I may decline to accept more than a certain value in small denomination coins.

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This is my point. Is it up to the retailer to verify that the person who presents the card is the owner? Do they do this by requesting ID or is it sufficient to ask them to use Chip and Pin?

It all seems a little grey

I have been in a store where they ask for extra ID for high value transactions. I think how you pay and what ID may be needed is up to the retailer and the customer. The retailer sets their terms and it is up to the customer to accept or not. I can’t see why MasterCard would start specifying if retailer must use Contactless or Chip and Pin.

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Any decent retailer will be taking precautions against potential fraud. The card issuing company doesn’t care. If the legitimate owner contests a transaction with a chargeback it is the retailer that stands to lose out. It is the retailer that shoulders the risk of these transactions, not the card issuer.

If I had any doubt then I’d ask for extra information to avoid fraudulent transactions. In the past, I did refuse to sell goods to certain buyers. As a retailer, I was not obligated to sell, I could choose to whom I sold.

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Both Visa and Mastercard ban their merchants from requiring additional ID for a transaction involving a properly signed card. They can request it, but refusal is not grounds to reject the transaction.

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Surely that means:

Is against the MasterCard/Visa membership rules?

I think it depends when the acceptance is deemed to have taken place. As @anon70107404 says, in a retail outlet, the retailer gives an ‘offer to treat’, the customer then offers payment which the retailer can accept or reject.

If the retailer says, yes, credit card is fine, then the offer has been accepted, at that point they cannot ask for and reject on the basis of additional ID.

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Ah that makes more sense :slight_smile:

a properly ‘signed’ card transaction yes…but if no signature just contactless or chip and pin?

This also does not make sence as in certain places (I think Peru) they are required by law to check ID on card transactions

Sign on the door says Apple Pay accepted, ID needed for Apple Pay…

That maybe English and Welsh Law but not sure it applies in all countries

I suspect @anon70107404 was retailing somewhere that law applies!

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The page I pointed to actually says ‘as long as the card is properly signed’ - but it is probably US focussed. As far as I’m aware, we are still required to sign our contactless and chip and pin cards?

My understanding was the same as his. When they come to pay be it card coins notes or cheques you can refuse at that point or counter by saying say “sorry no £50s” or “no contactless” or “contactless over £30 only with a signature” and those terms become part of your offer to enter into a contract of sale

yes we are still required to sign the cards even though they contactless, and both Mastercard and Visa have rules on what ID to request if a card has not been signed but most shop cashiers not trained up on that stuff

I don’t think anyone was arguing with his rights under the law to limit what he accepts as payment, it’s just that his failure to accept a valid credit card without ID conflicts with his agreement with the card company. Hence anyone being rejected could legitimately complain to the card company - whether it would result in anything useful, I doubt.

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I’ve had retailers in the past (not with Monzo) force me to use Contactless because it is cheaper for them to process

It makes no difference? Card fees are the same whether it is chip and pin or contactless