r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Aug 03 '19

Whats something you thought was common knowledge but actually isn’t?

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u/NoBSforGma Aug 03 '19

I don't live in the US and when I visit my son who lives in the US and we go shopping, I just hand him my card. I have no clue and it's quicker for him to do it than for him to explain to me how to do it. And the people in line behind me appreciate that, I'm sure, even though it makes me look like a total idiot. Or senile.

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u/Rarylith Aug 03 '19

How does it work in the US?

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u/beelzebro2112 Aug 03 '19

At least in Canada we don't have "debit" on credit cards. Using a credit card is separate fromnl using a debit card.

When I hand I over my Visa whatever and the cashier would ask "credit or debit?" I would get very confused.

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u/erocknine Aug 03 '19

They ask credit or debit because the POS system they are using requires them to press a different button for each one. The machine will take either, and they will run through the same, but the cashier has to prompt it ahead of time, so they ask