Wal-Mart To Soon Stop Accepting Master Card Signature Debit Cards
By: Import User
Updated: January 7, 2009
Bentonville-based Wal-Mart will stop
accepting signature debit cards issued by MasterCard starting in
February. The company is the first major retailer to take such
action since a lawsuit settlement freed merchants to pick which
credit and debit card services they use.
Wal-Mart says MasterCard`s fees for the signature debit cards
are too high. It will continue to accept Visa`s signature debit
cards.
When the change goes into effect February first, Wal-Mart
doesn`t expect many customers to be stopped dead at the cash
register.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Melissa Berryhill says fewer than one
percent of Wal-Mart transactions are under MasterCard signature
debit cards, and more than 90 percent of the cards carry a personal
identification number that can be used instead of a signature.
Wal-Mart will continue to accept MasterCard debit cards if
customers key in their PIN numbers.
Berryhill said saving money for Wal-Mart customers is at the
root of the move.
