FWIW Macquarie debit cards require one to select credit for a cash withdrawal at an ATM or at a payment terminal. As a result there is no way to escape the Aldi (or other’s card) surcharge. A bit of a dog’s brekkie out there?
It was indicated above that you tap/use Paywave and have a Visa branded NAB debit card.
Tapping your Visa debit card for Paywave (Tap &Go/Contactless the the MasterCard equivalent) uses the Visa payment system for processing the transaction (this news article explains how it works as well and why merchant fees are higher). It does not use the EFTPOS payment system. Merchant fees the business pays are those of Visa, not EFTPOS.
Many businesses pass on surcharges for Visa/MasterCard debit card use no differently to using the same companies credit cards - the ACCC recogises this. If you haven’t paid any surcharges, you have been extremely lucky or haven’t used the debit card PayWave function when surcharges existed (used the card for an EFTPOS transaction).
That is correct for transactions using Visa (or MasterCard) debit card payments through Paywave (or the Tap &Go/Contactless the the MasterCard equivalent). When tapping a Visa debit card, a pin isn’t required for transactions less than $100 (we find that our own card that some transactions the limit is $200).
Edit: Alternatively, if you incorrect thought using PayWave (tapping a visa debit card instead of inserting/swiping and selecting savings/credit) was a transaction through the EFTPOS system, surcharges may have been unknowingly paid. This would be particularly the case if surcharges were advised and a receipt wasn’t taken which would have shown a surcharge was added to the purchase.
I wasn’t aware that Macquarie has adopted a different approach for some accounts. Thanks for letting us know.
It is interesting to know that their website indicates that either Sav/Chq/Cr is used based on accounts one has with them. I would be asking them why your debit card can only make cash withdrawals when credit is selected.
My guess: Each region’s ATMs are a bit different. Some use 4 digit pins, others 6, some default to savings, or cheque, or credit or do not give the user a choice. My completely unfounded presumption has been ‘credit’ is the universal LCD that will work as hoped anywhere there is electronic banking and credit might still get one some currency (expectation?) even if the ‘cash systems’ are having problems.
Beyond that it would be a matter for governance and their IT systems. Keep in mind Macquarie is predominantly an investment bank with an overweighted number of higher net worth individuals as its core customers, with a smallish consumer component for the rest of us. It is an outlier in a few ways such as fee free transaction accounts that accrue the same interest as the savings as well as its own mobile phone authenticator that works on and offline (eg when travelling internationally) instead of SMS OTPs.
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Speaking to a good friend in the banking industry, thought is the Macquarie debit MC isn’t an EFTPOS card but a standalone MC debit card. She explained it is possible to have:
- EFTPOS only cards
- duel EFTPOS and credit card company issued debit cards
- credit card company issued debit cards
Most banks now issue 2 for everyday transaction accounts, some still have 1 available and it is also possible to have 3 (without use of EFTPOS system for transaction processing).
I wasn’t aware 3 existed, but as she said, they work no differently to a credit card as credit cards aren’t also EFTPOS cards. The main difference is a debit card uses your own account funds. The savings/cheque options aren’t available as it can’t be used as an EFTPOS card.
It makes sense.
Edit: unlike most other ‘iconic’ Australian banks, looking at the EFTPOS website, Macquarie Bank isn’t a partner program bank which suggests the above is correct.
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Thanks for that 
In recent years, the type 2 cards, such as I use, have been expanded to operate as Eftpos debit cards internationally. That is when used in Australia, this countries Eftpos system is used for processing. When used outside Australia, one of the International networks such as Visa is used for routing back to Australian processing.
Note that a credit transaction does not occur in either case. It is the credit transactions that incur the surcharges that the businesses can apply.
As Eftpos is an Australian payment system, when overseas some cards can be used on the Maestro and Cirrus international networks for ATM withdrawals. One needs to check with their bank that its issued cards can be used on Maestro and Cirrus networks.
As outlined above and as confirmed on bank websites, only if the card is swiped/inserted and savings/cheque is selected. It then is processed as an EFTPOS transaction through the EFTPOS payment system.
If the card is tapped (thus using Visa PayWave or MasterCard Tap & Go/Contactless), the transaction is processed through the Visa or MasterCard payment systems no differently to a credit card (noting that it will proceed if one has available funds in their account for the purchase). The seller incurs merchant fees of Visa/MasterCard. As the article in an earlier post indicates, these fees can be up to 4 times that for a EFTPOS processed transaction. Generally Visa/MasterCard merchant fees for their debit cards is similar, if not the same as for credit cards - and in some cases significantly more than for an EFTPOS transaction (noting some don’t like our own payment system provider charges the same flat rate irrespective of type of card presented).
As the article states…
Shoppers are urged to pay via EFTPOS or cash to save retailers - and themselves - from forking out unnecessary fees.
This statement is only correct for some purchases (a consumer won’t know which ones do) or where a business applies different surcharges to different card types.
Edit: In relation to international travel and card use, Choice has covered this:
We will have to disagree on whether or not paywave or tap and go are handled by what network. As far as I am concerned it is simply a feature of the chip embedded in the card and RFID. It allows up to a limit, pinless transactions.
All my card usage which is almost all tap and go, and not swipe or insert, is handled like any other Eftpos debit transaction. And is almost universally free of any surcharges that apply to credit card usage. Just the one business in my experience.
Maybe it depends on which card you have.
I have a Macquarie debit card which I used on a cruise last year. The cruise company charges a surcharge on credit cards, but not on debit cards. I found surcharges were applied to every transaction taken directly out of my bank account.
I had to request a refund of the surcharges which I received, however I suspect the unexpected surcharges had something to do with the Macquarie debit card and the way it operates as I know someone who used a debit card from another bank and didn’t attract surcharges.
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The Macquarie debit card is documented as being ‘credit’.
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While it may appear from a consumer point of view no concerning difference then using a card for an EFTPOS and the Visa PayWave or MasterCard Tap & Go/Contactless transaction, the way they are processed and merchant fees which apply to the seller can be very different (noting that some banks are now offering flat merchant fees across all card types possibly to compete with non-bank payment systems). This is outlined in the many links provided above and also outlined on some Australia bank websites. It is also possibly why some retailers chose to apply surcharges to credit card company debit and credit cards, but not to EFTPOS cards.
The credit card companies have been very successful in shifting consumers to use their payment systems for debit card transactions, so they can maximise their revenue/profits^. Banks have also been willing to oblige by issuing the cards. Whilst it comes at a convenience (card tapping, online/phone purchases etc), this convenience comes at a higher cost to retailers/service providers.
^ So much so, that a few years ago Visa stated…
Australia is leading the world in contactless payments, with Visa payWave now representing over 60 percent of all face to face Visa transactions in Australia today
EFTPOS has also implemented its own Tap & Go contactless payment system to compete with the credit card systems (it appears that some banks also offer business to take up the Tap & Go system such as ANZ - I have contacted our own bank to see if this is the case and also if the flat fees being offered at through Tap & Go). Its uptake has been slow and the only major Australian business which I am aware that uses it is Coles. At Coles, if a Visa debit card is tapped at Coles, the EFTPOS payment system is used in preference to the credit card payment system. There has been some criticism of Coles adopting the Tap & Go system as it has caused some customer to exceed their free transaction limits, causing significant bank account fees to be incurred. This might be one of the reasons why its adoption has been underwhelming.
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“Old wrinks”??
Old aged people. It is a term from the 1960s - which tells you what category I fall into. 
The term used in SE Qld in the 1960s was just “wrinklies”. The epithet “old” was implied. 
You are absolutely correct. The term was “wrinklies,” albeit it was often abbreviated to “wrinks.”
I added the “old” adjective because - well, umm, ahh, those southerners who might be reading this might be a bit slow on the uptake.
As you obviously know, it is hard to be humble when you are from Queensland. 
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I,could be wrong but I thought this was now illegal as cash is legal tender?
The key thing is that a business must offer some form of payment that represents the offered price as advertised. IE, without any added-on surcharge.
Now for cash payment.
The question is, can a business legally refuse to accept a consumer’s ‘legal tender’ (such as official Australian coins or banknotes) as payment?
The answer is yes. Currency and legal tender in Australia is governed by two primary pieces of legislation: the Currency Act 1965 (Cth); and the Reserve Bank Act 1959 (Cth). Importantly, there is no law against a business refusing to accept cash for goods and services. Businesses are within their rights to set the commercial terms upon which payment will take place before the ‘contract’ for supply of goods or services is entered into.
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Retailers etc rarely emphasise at the door similar to the latest discount sale whether they accept cash or other methods of payment. The local cafe where one orders at the counter might be the common exception.
Stores assume that the customer ready to settle a purchase will have multiple ways to pay. Already committed like sheep do we follow?
Thanks for sharing this. I really had no idea that businesses could do this. 
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It was more rigorously discussed in a many years old topic.
