5% cashback on contactless payments with a TSB Current Plus debit card

[Stats]

The banks make money whenever you use the card. If it is stolen, the bank has to refund the customer. Because you can only pay for amounts up to £30, and the PIN needs to be entered occasionally, the bank can't lose that much.

I thought this was a myth. In the several years I have been using contactless with both credit and debit cards across multiple retailers, not once have I been asked to enter my PIN.

 

[island]

Your bank sets the security parameters around when you will be asked for your PIN. One possibility is that one of the parameters is "X contactless transactions to the value of £Y in a row without an intervening chip & PIN transaction" and you may not have triggered it.

 

[radamfi]

I thought this was a myth. In the several years I have been using contactless with both credit and debit cards across multiple retailers, not once have I been asked to enter my PIN.

I've only started using my TSB card since last Friday and I've already needed the PIN twice.

 

[andrewkeith5]

I thought this was a myth. In the several years I have been using contactless with both credit and debit cards across multiple retailers, not once have I been asked to enter my PIN.

It depends how you use your card, the reason for asking you to use a PIN is to check it's still in your posession.

If you also regularly use it for PIN transactions, then it can reasonably assume that the card is still in your possession and so won't ask, but then you're likely to see the limit you can spend on Contactless before being asked reduced in line with your spending patterns.

Try for a little while only using your card for transactions not requiring a PIN - it'll pick you up eventually. Even quicker if you do a 'customer not present' transaction (e.g. over the phone)...Barclarcard once stopped me because I did six online or telephone transactions in a row when normally there would be at least a few Contactless or PIN transactions in there somewhere, now I use the card almost exclusively online I got pulled up when I changed back to using it in store after losing the card I would normally have used.... they do have really quite smart systems in place...

 

[lightbulb]

It depends how you use your card, the reason for asking you to use a PIN is to check it's still in your posession.

If you also regularly use it for PIN transactions, then it can reasonably assume that the card is still in your possession and so won't ask, but then you're likely to see the limit you can spend on Contactless before being asked reduced in line with your spending patterns.

Try for a little while only using your card for transactions not requiring a PIN - it'll pick you up eventually. Even quicker if you do a 'customer not present' transaction (e.g. over the phone)...Barclarcard once stopped me because I did six online or telephone transactions in a row when normally there would be at least a few Contactless or PIN transactions in there somewhere, now I use the card almost exclusively online I got pulled up when I changed back to using it in store after losing the card I would normally have used.... they do have really quite smart systems in place...

I've been using my TSB debit card for a couple of weeks now (didn't use it all until this 5% offer started) and have been asked for my pin three times now. It's not worth using it as a chip and pin card, as there's no cash back, so I always use my Virgin Atlantic Amex for a transaction when the TSB card asks for the pin. I'm now wondering whether my refusal to use it for chip and pin means that eventually they'll stop me using it for contactless. Is this likely?

 

[radamfi]

I've been using my TSB debit card for a couple of weeks now (didn't use it all until this 5% offer started) and have been asked for my pin three times now. It's not worth using it as a chip and pin card, as there's no cash back, so I always use my Virgin Atlantic Amex for a transaction when the TSB card asks for the pin. I'm now wondering whether my refusal to use it for chip and pin means that eventually they'll stop me using it for contactless. Is this likely?

If you look at Money Saving Expert forums, there have been similar complaints about people getting asked for their PIN a lot with the TSB card and people also switch to another card because the TSB card doesn't give cashback unless it is contactless. I have been asked twice and put in the PIN each time because it was only for a few quid and in the hope that it will reduce the frequency where I need the PIN in future.

Does making a cash withdrawal every day or so help?

 

[island]

An ATM transaction including a balance enquiry should reset the contactless security check too, although it will depend on how your bank has configured things.

 

[andrewkeith5]

I've been using my TSB debit card for a couple of weeks now (didn't use it all until this 5% offer started) and have been asked for my pin three times now. It's not worth using it as a chip and pin card, as there's no cash back, so I always use my Virgin Atlantic Amex for a transaction when the TSB card asks for the pin. I'm now wondering whether my refusal to use it for chip and pin means that eventually they'll stop me using it for contactless. Is this likely?

They won't stop you using contactless, but if you only ever use contactless then you'll be asked for your PIN a lot. A quick trip to a cash machine to prove it's still you with the card is normally enough though there isn't any harm in using it for a PIN transaction every now and then... I easily make more than £100 of Contactless payments a month, not that I should mind....

If you look at Money Saving Expert forums, there have been similar complaints about people getting asked for their PIN a lot with the TSB card and people also switch to another card because the TSB card doesn't give cashback unless it is contactless. I have been asked twice and put in the PIN each time because it was only for a few quid and in the hope that it will reduce the frequency where I need the PIN in future.

Does making a cash withdrawal every day or so help?

Yes, you just need to do something that requires the PIN as they want to make sure the card is still with it's rightful owner.

I wouldn't recommend using the card solely for Contactless transactions as it is likely to ask for your PIN much more frequently than if you use it 'normally' - it is, after all, a current account, and isn't designed to be solely used for Contactless payments!

It's quite likely that the system will eventually learn your habits, though, and could lighten up a little. TSB may just need a little while to get used to it, though still expect to be asked.

I've no idea where people got the idea that the TSB card gave cashback on non-Contactless transactions - it seems clear as the light of day to me! The banks want to encourage Contactless transactions to replace cash, and they're doing a good job of it so far...If only we could encourage the stubborn retailers!

 

[JaJaWa]

They won't stop you using contactless, but if you only ever use contactless then you'll be asked for your PIN a lot. A quick trip to a cash machine to prove it's still you with the card is normally enough though there isn't any harm in using it for a PIN transaction every now and then... I easily make more than £100 of Contactless payments a month, not that I should mind....

Yes, you just need to do something that requires the PIN as they want to make sure the card is still with it's rightful owner.

I wouldn't recommend using the card solely for Contactless transactions as it is likely to ask for your PIN much more frequently than if you use it 'normally' - it is, after all, a current account, and isn't designed to be solely used for Contactless payments!

I use my Barclays debit card almost solely for contactless transactions and it's never required a PIN to be entered.

 

[MikeWh]

This is starting to change too. Contactless cards can now be issued online-only but there are ways and means in place to have exceptions for merchants such as TfL where there is an overarching need for speed.

TfL use the transit model for contactless payments which works in a completely different way to the retail model. Although speed is important, how many buses or gatelines have you seen with a keypad? It just isn't feasible to operate the system unless you can be sure that a PIN will never be asked for. And yes, I know buses used to sometimes reject, but that was before the transit model had been implimented.

The transit model has been created by TfL in conjunction with the banks. Each touch gets transmitted back to the central system and the first touch in a day triggers an authorisation for up to 10p. As long as that succeeds you will be free to accumulate further transit charges up to a limit, whereupon a further authorisation may be attempted. If there is a problem with the authorisation then your card will be blacklisted and this should be reported back to all readers within about half an hour. At this point you will be allowed to exit through a gate if you are in the system, but entry through a gate will be declined as will boarding a bus. An authorisation is only likely to be declined if you have reported the card as stolen, AFAIK. Because the transit model is an authorised (albeit slightly delayed) system you are allowed to accumulate more than the £30 limit in the daily transaction charge. However, since the increase to £30 it is now almost impossible to reach it unless you get multiple incomplete journey charges.

 

[WillPS]

I bet you're right. Glad I got in now with a new card for three years!

Banks often replace cards well ahead of the stated expiration date.

 

[Kite159]

I use my Barclays debit card almost solely for contactless transactions and it's never required a PIN to be entered.

Similarly I use my Asda Credit Card pretty much solely for contactless transactions it it's never asked me for a PIN.

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Some members of the MSE forums like complaining about anything which costs them income, even if it's a matter of pence

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I might look into getting a TSB account, that little benefit of cashback with contactless could come in handy (plus the 5% interest on the first £2000 in the account)

 

[lightbulb]

I might look into getting a TSB account, that little benefit of cashback with contactless could come in handy (plus the 5% interest on the first £2000 in the account)

At the risk of going off-topic, don't forget the 5% Monthly Saver (although 6% is available at First Direct, HSBC, and Marks & Spencer); 5% is also available on the first £2500 in Nationwide's FlexDirect account, albeit only for year (after that, downgrade to a Flex account, then after another year, upgrade again to the FlexDirect, then downgrade again, and rinse and repeat while rates last...).

 

[ainsworth74]

Banks often replace cards well ahead of the stated expiration date.

That's how I got my contactless card. My old debit card was due to expire September 2015 but I got sent a contactless card around September/October 2014.