Westpac Visa Debit Card

March 2008

Further to the previously released statement below, we are now delighted to advise that with the combined work and help of Visa, Westpac and Paymark this card can now be processed for face to face transactions through the cheque/savings button on the terminal and thus there will be no merchant service fee incurred. 

It is hoped that the ANZ switch will allow the same in the not too distant future

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2007 Release

Many of you would have encountered the Visa Debit Card issued by Westpac.

This card works in exactly the same way as a regular eftpos card - i.e the funds are drawn down from the card owner's cheque or savings account.

Up until now some customers have been selecting the credit button rather than the savings/cheque on the terminal which, of course, has meant that you have been charged a full Merchant Service Fee on the transaction.

We were of the view that this was wrong.  The card is simply a branded eftpos card - it does not have the risks of a credit card transaction.  There was no justification for a merchant service fee.

We took the case to both Visa and Westpac and an agreement has now been reached that the debit card will now operate through the cheque/savings button on the terminal and no merchant service fee will apply.  We are delighted with this outcome and we were grateful for the assistance from Westpac in opening the lines of communication to the Cards NZ (VISA) Board.

We understand the necessary software change will be completed soon.

This is a very positive outcome as we expect the presentation of these cards to increase substantially in the medium term.