You are incorrect. It is not against the merchant agreement. I believed it was until I was asked for ID. I initially refused, thinking it was against the merchant agreement, and the refused to sell me the item. I then called Visa on my cell, and the CSR said that the store can ask for my ID as a condition of sale on my Visa if they wanted. I was wrong. Why don't you call Visa yourself to verify?aidan24 wrote: ↑Yesterday I made a purchase at a major retailer for about $500. I handed over my Visa and I was asked for ID.
I mentioned that it is against their Merchant Agreement to request ID, but the cashier just shrugged. I obliged as I was in a hurry, but WTF?
Do Visa/AMEX/MC have it in there agreements to not request ID?
Retailers asking for ID
- Last Updated:
- Oct 6th, 2009 11:33 pm
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- SCORE
- YYZFA
- Deal Addict
- Aug 12, 2007
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- grant
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- Aug 19, 2001
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- Vancouver
Who exactly are these "same individuals"? Please show us evidence of them "bashing their CC issuer"boyoflondon wrote: ↑The same individuals who are whining about being ID'd at POS (Point of sale) are going to be the first who are going to be bashing their CC issuer once their card gets skimmed, and they get fraudulent transactions on their account.
- M08006899
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- Aug 7, 2009
- 251 posts
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I've never had a problem with using my TCard as ID :P
- FutureHeartsJunkie
- Deal Addict
- May 11, 2005
- 2182 posts
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- Ajax, ON, Canada
I wonder if retailers have a policy in regards to gift cards that are not embossed (in layman's terms: credit card gift cards that you often see at stores or electronic prepaid credit cards), does those apply too?
- gq_fuzion
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- Dec 12, 2003
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- GTA
did you call the bank or VISA?YYZFA wrote: ↑You are incorrect. It is not against the merchant agreement. I believed it was until I was asked for ID. I initially refused, thinking it was against the merchant agreement, and the refused to sell me the item. I then called Visa on my cell, and the CSR said that the store can ask for my ID as a condition of sale on my Visa if they wanted. I was wrong. Why don't you call Visa yourself to verify?
the VISA and Mastercard Merchant agreement both states that for use of their services, a signature matching the signature on the back of the card is sufficient ID for the company looking to get funds. asking for addition ID is against their policy and can lead to termination of the companies contract to utilize VISA/Mastercard services
this also goes the same for stores that will not process a VISA or Mastercard transaction unless you meet a minimum... Minimum purchase is fine according to interac policy as long as the minimum is clearly posted for all customers to see. VISA and Mastercard however have a strict policy on no minimum purchase required
- YYZFA
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I called the 800 number on the back of my TD Visa card. This is what the CSR told me. I had no choice but to show my ID if I wanted to purchase my item with a credit card at that store.gq_fuzion wrote: ↑did you call the bank or VISA?
the VISA and Mastercard Merchant agreement both states that for use of their services, a signature matching the signature on the back of the card is sufficient ID for the company looking to get funds. asking for addition ID is against their policy and can lead to termination of the companies contract to utilize VISA/Mastercard services
this also goes the same for stores that will not process a VISA or Mastercard transaction unless you meet a minimum... Minimum purchase is fine according to interac policy as long as the minimum is clearly posted for all customers to see. VISA and Mastercard however have a strict policy on no minimum purchase required
- D582
- Sr. Member
- Oct 8, 2008
- 722 posts
- 70 upvotes
I would not expect TD Visa India customer service to know the merchant rules.
You have to call Visa themselves (not TD Visa or CIBC Visa etc). The rules set down by Visa International which apply to all merchants that accept Visa cards everywhere do not allow a merchant to ask for ID as a condition of card acceptance, unless the card is not signed.
- champlinD
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- Aug 12, 2006
- 3713 posts
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YYZFA is correct. Even Privacy commissioner says they have right to ask ID.D582 wrote: ↑I would not expect TD Visa India customer service to know the merchant rules.
You have to call Visa themselves (not TD Visa or CIBC Visa etc). The rules set down by Visa International which apply to all merchants that accept Visa cards everywhere do not allow a merchant to ask for ID as a condition of card acceptance, unless the card is not signed.
Only difference is they can not write all the details like, Drivers license number, Birth Date etc. I have not seen any VISA links about this ID.
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- brunes
- Deal Expert
- Dec 11, 2005
- 20136 posts
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FYI it used to be agains the merchant agreement, but they changed it about 6 months - 1 year ago.YYZFA wrote: ↑You are incorrect. It is not against the merchant agreement. I believed it was until I was asked for ID. I initially refused, thinking it was against the merchant agreement, and the refused to sell me the item. I then called Visa on my cell, and the CSR said that the store can ask for my ID as a condition of sale on my Visa if they wanted. I was wrong. Why don't you call Visa yourself to verify?
I can 100% confirm this used to be against the merchant agreement, and if you do old RFD searches on this topic you can find the copy/paste of the relevant portions - so it for sure USED TO BE against it.
But if you look at the agreements TODAY, that clause is not there anymore.
EDIT: Actually, it is stil there, in the US agreement. See page 29 of http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/ ... chants.pdf
Requesting
Cardholder ID
When should you ask a cardholder for an official government ID? Although Visa
rules do not preclude merchants from asking for cardholder ID, merchants
cannot make an ID a condition of acceptance. Therefore, merchants cannot
refuse to complete a purchase transaction because a cardholder refuses to
provide ID. Visa believes merchants should not ask for ID as part of their
regular card acceptance procedures. Laws in several states also make it illegal
for merchants to write a cardholder
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- YYZFA
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I didn't get transferred to a call centre in India. I can't find the post that said I did. In fact, the CSR told me that asking for ID is an effective way of reducing credit card fraud at stores. From this, I gather that they are happy some retailers do this.D582 wrote: ↑I would not expect TD Visa India customer service to know the merchant rules.
You have to call Visa themselves (not TD Visa or CIBC Visa etc). The rules set down by Visa International which apply to all merchants that accept Visa cards everywhere do not allow a merchant to ask for ID as a condition of card acceptance, unless the card is not signed.
- f00kie
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- Oct 27, 2002
- 2065 posts
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- Toronto
I get asked for ID when I go to a bar... what's the difference at the store? I see no problem with it, except for the time waster. This happened to me almost every single time when I was in the States, but not once yet in Canada.
- D582
- Sr. Member
- Oct 8, 2008
- 722 posts
- 70 upvotes
I sent an email to Visa Canada regarding this:
And I received this response:D582 wrote:
Hi there,
I would like to know what the official rules are for Visa merchants in regards to requesting ID in order to complete a Visa purchase. I was always under the impression that retailers were not allowed to ask for ID as a condition of acceptance when paying by Visa, unless the card is not signed. I found references to this on the Visa USA website, but I do not know if this applies in Canada as well.
If you could let me know of the official rules regarding this, it would be much appreciated.
Thank you,
D582
Well there you have it. It is still against the Visa Canada rules for a merchant to refuse to accept your Visa card because you do not want to show ID.Visa Canada wrote:
Thank you for your inquiry concerning regulations for Visa card acceptance. Visa has certain regulations that all merchants which accept Visa cards must follow. Visa merchants are not permitted to:
* Establish minimum or maximum transaction amounts, even on sale items.
* Submit a Visa sales draft for a dishonored check.
* Pass on the merchant's transaction fee to the cardholder as a Visa "service charge", "service fee" or "surcharge", even on sale items. A merchant may offer a discount for cash, however, the cardholder must be made aware of this prior to entering into the transaction.
* Require a Visa cardholder to sign a sales draft that does not have a specific amount indicated.
* Merchants may not refuse to honor a Visa card simply because the cardholder refuses a request for supplementary information/ID.
Please notify the disputes area at the financial institution that services the card account of any merchant practices that you feel are inappropriate. The card issuing bank has access to the appropriate Visa rules and regulations as well as to the Notification of Customer Complaint forms which should be used by your bank to document and file merchant complaints. It is not necessary for your bank to be the offending merchant's financial institution in order to file a complaint for you.
Thank you for writing.
Visa Canada
That is different. At a bar, you need to show proof of age to purchase alcohol, regardless of your payment method. And that's the most important difference. If a store asks for everyone's ID to make a sale, regardless if that person is paying by cash, debit, or credit, then it is ok because the ID request is tied to the sale, not the payment method.
- guessaaa
- Deal Addict
- Oct 9, 2005
- 1884 posts
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I find it ironic that Visa Canada does not spell "honour" the Canadian way.
- tcho
- Newbie
- May 2, 2009
- 74 posts
- Edmonton
I have a friend that actually wrote on the signature space of her VISA "Please Ask for ID." I thought that was quite wise, and would do the same on my next card.
- YYC27
- Sr. Member
- Jul 29, 2009
- 895 posts
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- tkyoshi
- Deal Fanatic
- Mar 6, 2005
- 5785 posts
- 810 upvotes
Yes, Ask for ID = Fail.
If you want to get technical on merchant agreements, a merchant is not to accept a card with "Ask For ID". In that case it is proper to ask for ID and get the cardholder to sign the card with his/her real signature (i.e. matches the ID). If the cardholder refuses, the transaction should be declined.
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