As I understand it EPS predates international debit systems, and I guess the banks generally don't see the justification to implement another system that adds nothing for the majority of customers.
>> instead of a defunct eps system
What makes you think its defunct? I use it several times a week for purchases.
EPS has worked well for me. I've used it to pay bills online (using PPS) and settled things such as the hospital bill when my wife gave birth. The system itself is fine and works well.
The only issue I have is that I need to pay for things internationally and that basically means Visa/Mastercard. The Mastercard debit system (Maestro) isn't as widely supported, but thanks to Visa's "VISA Anywhere" requirement, all stores have to take all cards. For example, you can use a VISA Electron in Australia even though they aren't issued there (according to some VISA bumph I read a while back).
Anyway, had a visa debit card been on offer, I would never have bothered applying to HSBC for a credit card. I was (and am) really only interested in it as a payment method - debit suits me fine.
Which reminds of another question I was going to ask - does the Fubon card work for AAVS Octopus top-ups? I would suspect not...
Re AAVS, have you heard of google?
Welcome to Octopus Hong Kong - Easy Reloading - Top Up with AAVS - Apply for AAVS
I only use credit cards as charge cards (i.e. always pay them off when due) but the big advantage over debit cards is that most of them have some sort of benefits in the form of cashback or airmiles or similar which is worth about 1.5-2% which is quite a significant amount of money over time if you use credit cards whenever possible.
Last edited by PDLM; 01-02-2010 at 11:38 AM.
The commission on an EPS transaction is less than 1%, compared to Visa and Mastercard where it is something like 2% or 3%. I am not sure if its the same on a Visa/Mastercard debit card.
This may be why HK uses the EPS system. The merchants dont want to pay so much commission to Visa/Mastercard.
This is also why if you go somewhere like Mongkok computer center and try to haggle the prices, they will go a bit lower if you pay with EPS. The merchants are always happier to accept EPS over credit card.
Hi PDLM,
I agree with you - if the card is used as a charge card and no interest is paid (and you get the annual fees et al waived) then it makes sense to use a credit card - you basically get something for nothing :-)
For me though, I have yet to secure a local job that supplies the neccesary paperwork to convince the bank to give me a credit card. Even paying in money from HSBC Offshore didn't interest them - they wanted the contract.
So, I will just pay in to the Fubon account, and as and when I get the paperwork they want, I'll apply for a credit card that doesn't need a deposit. The Fubon debit card seems an ideal interim solution :-)
I think the issue is with credit cards.
Citi for sure does not have a PR requirement and neither should Amex.