FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Picture ID when using credit card?

Dec 28, 2005, 4:16 pm

#43

chichow

Join Date: Oct 2002

Location: Chicago, USA

Programs: UA 1MM Gold AA Gold NW Silver Marriott Plat. SPG Plat. Hilton Gold Hertz 5 Star

Posts: 3,220

Quote:

Originally Posted by KVS

Requiring ID is a direct violation of the Visa/Mastercard regulations.

For Visa:

"It is contrary to Visa policy to require the consumer to show identification as a condition of the sale. If a merchant asks for identification and the consumer is unable or unwilling to produce it, the merchant is still obliged to accept the consumer’s Visa card. Consumers who experience refusal of service based on identification may either call their card issuer to report the problem or call 1-800-VISA-911"
[http://usa.visa.com/about_visa/newsr...arch#anchor_18]

For MasterCard:

"The merchant cannot require additional identification as a standard business practice when you use MasterCard for payment."
[http://global.mastercard.com/consumer/cust_serv.html]
"If a merchant displays a decal with the MasterCard logo to indicate that MasterCard cards are accepted, that merchant can not condition a sale based upon the cardholder disclosing any other information or identification, except under very specific conditions, such as when merchant needs to deliver merchandise to the cardholder's home or business."
[http://www.mastercardbusiness.com/mc.../faqs.html#211]
There is even a form on the MasterCard's website to report this and other common violations: [http://global.mastercard.com/cgi-bin..._template.html]

As for AMEX, they discourage (but not prohibit) this practice, leaving it at the discretion of the merchant.

--

So I have a couple of followup questions regarding this:

1) Say a merchant asks for ID. And I pull out the Visa merchant terms. And then the merchant continues by refusing sale. And I report the merchant. so what? I mean is there any teeth to the regulation?

2) And how does this apply in different areas. For example, I always get asked for ID no matter what when I am using a credit card in Las Vegas. Is their different US state law? What about for the EU?

Reply