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From: msc@qubix.UUCP (Mark Callow)
Newsgroups: net.consumers
Subject: Re: Checks and credit cards
Message-ID: <1107@qubix.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 16-May-84 22:14:33 EDT
Article-I.D.: qubix.1107
Posted: Wed May 16 22:14:33 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 18-May-84 00:53:59 EDT
References: <2969@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Organization: Qubix Graphic Systems, Saratoga, CA
Lines: 38

Regarding check guarantee cards.

I too have wondered why banks here are reluctant to issue useful check
guarantee cards.  BofA, for example, has a check guarantee card which
is just about useless.  No merchant will accept it alone.  They still
require a drivers licence *or* a major credit card.  In other words
it is one of the 2 pieces of requested identification.

Even though it is useless, they are more careful about issuing them
than they are about issuing Visa or Mastercard credit cards.

I'm from England and I have a cheque guarantee card from my bank
there.  (Calm down all you IRS spies.  There's *much* less than
$1000 in it.)  The way it works is very convenient.  All you have to
do is show the card, write the card number on the back of the cheque,
and sign the cheque *in the presence of drawee* with a signature that
matches the one on the card.  If these conditions are met, the bank
guarantees to cash the cheque.  The only small drawback is that you
cannot stop payment on such cheques.

Also British banks do not charge you when they bounce your cheques.
In fact you have to have overdrawn enough to worry the Bank Manager
before they even bounce a cheque.  When they do, they send you a polite
letter asking you to rectify the situation.  They do charge interest
on the overdraft.

I can only conclude that US banks find returned check charges too
profitable.

It is interesting that British banks which operate in the US (eg Barclay's,
and Lloyd's) acquire all the bad habits of their American counterparts
including an inability to spell the word "cheque" -:).
-- 
From the TARDIS of Mark Callow
msc@qubix.UUCP,  decwrl!qubix!msc@Berkeley.ARPA
...{decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!decwrl!qubix!msc, ...{ittvax,amd70}!qubix!msc

"I'm a citizen of the Universe, and a gentleman to boot!"