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poke133 t1_j1jbl3s wrote

is this a thing in North America? I was in Canada a few years ago and the cashier told me they don't accept VISA debit cards and had to take out cash from an ATM to pay.. there was Mastercard logos around the counter, but I didn't really piece it together being in a foreign country and all.

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Vladius28 t1_j1joj0x wrote

Was this a costco?

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poke133 t1_j1jr46n wrote

I believe it was.

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Vladius28 t1_j1jv6fd wrote

Yea. Costco is like that. You won't find that anywhere else in Canada. Amex isnt always everywhere, but Visa and MC are absolutely standard

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simple_mech t1_j1kbh63 wrote

Didn’t Costco only take Amex before the last 5 years or so?

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Vladius28 t1_j1kc8qv wrote

If I remember right. They've switched a couple times. Whomever gives them the best rates.

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Amaya-hime t1_j1kjyfv wrote

Costco where I am will only take Visa, maybe Amex, but definitely not MC.

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digitalfiend t1_j1kolyt wrote

US Costco only accepts Visa and Canadian Costco only accepts Mastercard. They both dumped Amex a several years ago.

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Amaya-hime t1_j1kpssz wrote

Ah gotcha. Don’t have Amex, so hadn’t tried that one.

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mbianchik t1_j1l6id9 wrote

Mexican Costco accepts both visa and Mastercard.. I have never seen Amex anywhere here.

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IHateNoobss422 t1_j1laqe2 wrote

I’ve used Mastercard in US Costco 🤷‍♂️

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jwort93 t1_j1lo03m wrote

Was it a debit card? They accept any type of debit card, only visa credit cards in the US though.

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dbhathcock t1_j1kp6u6 wrote

And, previously, Sam’s Club only took MasterCard and Discover.

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rfugger t1_j1k4kz3 wrote

Costco is big enough to negotiate their own processing fees for credit card transactions. Visa didn't play ball with them in Canada (or MC offered a better deal for exclusivity), so they stopped accepting Visa.

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ghx16 t1_j1jylha wrote

You are a Costco member and don't know about their shenanigans when it comes to forms of payments they accept? In the U.S they don't take any MC, Amex or Discover credit card, in Canada is the other way around

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9-11GaveMe5G t1_j1kayq2 wrote

>You are a Costco member and don't know about their shenanigans

As another comment mentioned, it's not "shenanigans". Costco negotiates a lower credit card transaction fee in exchange for exclusivity. This results in savings that help keep prices down. And before you say they just pass on the cost, the vast majority of Costco profit is not from product sales, so the lower fee directly benefits members.

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ghx16 t1_j1kdl4v wrote

Oh don't worry I'm quite aware how things work at r/costco. I kept hearing wondering things about it left and right and ever since I became a member in 2019 they just keep removing more and more member benefits left and right without replacing them with anything else, the latest one is removing 2-year extended warranty from their citi credit card just this month

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poke133 t1_j1l809g wrote

> You are a Costco member and don't know about their shenanigans when it comes to forms of payments they accept?

took me a bit to understand this membership question. I was with a local who must've been and offered to pay in their place. we don't have Costco in my part of Europe.

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Chip89 t1_j1kptya wrote

Technically. They will take Apple Pay and or the debit portion.

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ghx16 t1_j1kqe8j wrote

Apple pay being a form of payment is irrelevant, I know they take mobile payments. Thing is they still won't take it if the credit card attached to your device is not a Visa credit card

For debit cards they take any payment network

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robotsquirrel t1_j1ljpan wrote

Apparently they took Discover at one point but then negotiated to use VISA. This is in-store. Online ordering I can use MasterCard.

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ghx16 t1_j1mt2w9 wrote

According to people at r/costco it was Amex before the current Citi Visa contract they have, not sure if it was Discover before that

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robotsquirrel t1_j1qzzcn wrote

I used Discover in California. They built one in Oklahoma that year and when I went to register for an account, it was Visa. Edit: Did a 10 second internet search and found that American Express and Discover are the same network, so yes, Discover was used before the current contract.

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ghx16 t1_j1ra2wq wrote

Are you talking about this?

>If you've got a card from American Express or Discover, then the card issuer and card network are one and the same company.

Because if that's what you're saying you're interpreting it wrong, what it means is that (unlike other banks) both Discover and AMEX are both the bank that issue their cards to customers as well as payment networks

I have been to many businesses (especially in other countries) where it's common that they take American Express but not Discover, and also the other way around here

But even then that information is not completely correct, I have a wells Fargo card issued by American Express gor example

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robotsquirrel t1_j1ratdg wrote

That's cool. It doesn't change the fact I used a Discover card in one state and a completely different one a year later at a brand new Costco.

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ghx16 t1_j1ree09 wrote

Well I can't find any info before 1999, which was the year Costco signed its exclusive agreement with American Express, so it was either before that year or you used a debit Discover card, since to this day Costco takes debit cards on any of those payments networks

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cannibal_man t1_j1k47oz wrote

Sounds like costco's gonna have to change, after this.

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Crizbibble t1_j1k9d3t wrote

Costco is one of the few decent company’s in this awful world. They are doing everything mostly right as far as running a business goes.

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48911150 t1_j1kvdfe wrote

I dont know i find it really weird you have to pay and be a member to buy stuff from them

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Miguelwastaken t1_j1l1r6t wrote

Well many people find it to be a good value proposition.

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48911150 t1_j1lh0dv wrote

I guess it depends on location. Here in Japan you can find most types of foodstuff cheaper in normal supermarkets

(For example they sell 4.5kg oatmeal for ¥1400 at costco but 500g sells for ¥115 in jp supermarkets)

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Miguelwastaken t1_j1lw51b wrote

I’m happy for you that you found an arbitrary example.

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48911150 t1_j1lwozn wrote

Jeez it’s just one example. All the other stuff i’ve seen wasnt any better (olive oil/cheese/meat etc). you’d expect big savings in exchange for paid membership

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Last-Caterpillar-112 t1_j1m09p0 wrote

So then basically this is just old-fashioned cartel warfare between all the crooks - visa, Mastercard, amex, …

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jiveaku t1_j1k74cf wrote

Full compatibility should be enforced to all competitors. Where I live is the opposite, LOTS of business won’t accept MasterCard, VISA only.

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StepYaGameUp t1_j1iilvb wrote

STOP!

Or we’ll look the other way for more campaign contributions!

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PeePeeCockroach t1_j1km4t0 wrote

does extend to VISA too? Can I start using MasterCard at Costco again?

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IsildursBane20 t1_j1krhw5 wrote

That’s Costco blocking Mastercard, not Mastercard.

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PeePeeCockroach t1_j2ea23l wrote

What difference does it make if the effect is the same. The reason Costco blocks Mastercard, and other cards, is due to a financial deal with VISA.

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IsildursBane20 t1_j2fmdq5 wrote

It makes a huge difference? One is Costco not accepting the payment method, the other is Mastercard actively blocking the payment…but go ahead and double down on being wrong lol

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Okpeppersalt t1_j1kqyyi wrote

Missed the 2020 name changes somehow.

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Eli_Yitzrak t1_j1mro2q wrote

Does this mean I can start using Afterpay?

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diancephelon t1_j1k5f7u wrote

Is this why I can’t get a transaction to go through ShopPay when I use Mastercard?

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