credit card or ATM card

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faryan

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Is it possible to buy things by the use of ATM card at a store?
What is the difference between a credit card and an ATM card?
 

Rover_KE

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Here in England, I use my credit card to buy stuff in stores, restaurants etc, and the company sends me a bill for all the purchases at the end of the month.

I use my debit card (AE ATM card, I believe) to draw money out of service tills (which is what I call ATMs) and also to buy stuff in stores - but when I do that the money leaves my bank account straight away.

Rover
 

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Is it possible to buy things by the use of ATM card at a store?
What is the difference between a credit card and an ATM card?
Different companies have different cards. I can use both my credit card and my debit card at an ATM.
There is no necessary relationship between a credit card, and being able to use it at an ATM. They're two different concepts. In fact, I'm not sure whether anyone issues an 'ATM card' which cannot be used elsewhere for transactions.
 

faryan

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then it means that they do somewhat the same job, don't they?
 

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then it means that they do somewhat the same job, don't they?
That's one way of looking at it. I see it this way: there is no such thing as an "ATM card". You apply for a credit or debit card, and you either can or can't use it at an ATM, depending on what you've arranged with the bank.
You can't assume that an ATM card will be a credit card, or that a credit card will be an ATM card.
If any of your cards works at an ATM, then you could call it an ATM card.

PS: If you have an 'ATM card', you would have to check with your bank about whether it is a credit card or a debit card.
 
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That's one way of looking at it. I see it this way: there is no such thing as an "ATM card". You apply for a credit or debit card, and you either can or can't use it at an ATM, depending on what you've arranged with the bank.
You can't assume that an ATM card will be a credit card, or that a credit card will be an ATM card.
If any of your cards works at an ATM, then you could call it an ATM card.

PS: If you have an 'ATM card', you would have to check with your bank about whether it is a credit card or a debit card.

Here in the US, bank ATM cards are now usually branded with a "Visa" or "MasterCard" logo and are able to be used anywhere those "credit cards" are accepted. So, what used to be only for taking money out of an ATM can now be used to directly debit money from your account virtually anywhere.
 

emsr2d2

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I think there are still some very basic bank accounts here in the UK where you are issued with a card which only works in an ATM. You cannot hand it over in a shop or a restaurant, or use it on the internet. It's literally a "cash card".

But most people have a credit card and a debit card. They can both be used to pay for goods instantly in a shop. They can both be used in an ATM. However, as the previous poster said, with a debit card, the money disappears from your bank account immediately. With a credit card, you are effectively borrowing the money from the credit card company and at some point in the next few weeks, you will have to pay that credit card bill.
 

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What happens if you don't the whole credit card bill?
 

bhaisahab

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What happens if you don't the whole credit card bill?
You can pay some of it each month. There is usually a minimum amount that you are required to pay, say 10% of the outstanding balance.
 

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If you do not pay the balance on a credit card in full, then they apply interest and your balance grows. Interest rates can be as high as 20% and "minimum payments" required by the credit card companies can be as low as a few percent of the balance. It can take decades to pay off a credit card by only making the minimum payment (with no new charges added). The banks are happy to let you do this because they make lots of money on interest.
 

Offroad

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Interest is the word I was looking for.
 

Offroad

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emsr2d2

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bhaisahab

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"Interest" isn't a verb. Well, not in this context, it's not!
I think he might have meant that he forgot to put "pay" in the original question.
Originally Posted by Offroad
What happens if you don't the whole credit card bill?
 

emsr2d2

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I think he might have meant that he forgot to put "pay" in the original question.
Originally Posted by Offroad
What happens if you don't the whole credit card bill?

Oops! Of course that's what he meant. I misread it. I also failed to correct the spelling of "habit" but remembered to do "forgetting". Time for a rest for me, I think!
 

Innocent Fairy

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Here in the US, bank ATM cards are now usually branded with a "Visa" or "MasterCard" logo and are able to be used anywhere those "credit cards" are accepted. So, what used to be only for taking money out of an ATM can now be used to directly debit money from your account virtually anywhere.

We have the same system here in Pakistan. I have an ATM Visa card that works for both purposes. :up:
No disrespect but my question is: Is this where we should discuss banking system or English learning problem? What is the piont of learning English in the poster's thread?
 

emsr2d2

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We have the same system here in Pakistan. I have an ATM Visa card that works for both purposes. :up:
No disrespect but my question is: Is this where we should discuss banking system or English learning problem? What is the piont of learning English in the poster's thread?

I think the poster wanted to know if we would all understand the same thing in English if he said "ATM card" or if there were other phrases to be used. Admittedly, we veered off course a bit afterwards but that's not necessarily unhelpful.
 

Innocent Fairy

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I think the poster wanted to know if we would all understand the same thing in English if he said "ATM card" or if there were other phrases to be used. Admittedly, we veered off course a bit afterwards but that's not necessarily unhelpful.

What does course mean here? Why did you use it? Can you please explain, teacher?
 

Rover_KE

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Veered off course means wandered off topic.

It was used because ems chose to use a metaphor for stylistic effect.

Rover
 

SoothingDave

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We have the same system here in Pakistan. I have an ATM Visa card that works for both purposes. :up:
No disrespect but my question is: Is this where we should discuss banking system or English learning problem? What is the piont of learning English in the poster's thread?

You can't learn about English in a vacuum. Often culture explains language and vice versa.
 
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