Kat
Since i got a moment, here is a ltilte more history for those interested.Originally when debit cards were introduced ther were 4 basic cards. Solo, Maestro, Delta and Electron. Solo and Maestro were issued by the Mastercard (remember Access your flexible friend?) Banks (at that time Midland/HSBC and Nat West i think). Delta and Electron by the Visa Banks (Barclays and LLoyds). The rest of the Banks were mostly still Building Soc's then. Solo and Delta were debit cards AND cheque Guarantee Cards. Maestro and Electron were just debit cards with no Check Guarantee. This was when people still used cheques in shops. The Maestro/ Elctron Cards were issued to people with no credit history or a really bad credit history. The theory being that with these cards you couldn't go overdrawn. With the Solo/Delta cards you could run all over town writing cheques, even if you didn't have the cash in your account. Since people don't use cheques like that anymore there isn't the need for the differences so much, but i guess this is why banks still issue them to under people under 21. That way they can build a credit history and progress to the grown up card'. And as i mentioned above, when the government wanted to pay benefits by bank transfer they came in usefull then since many people on benefits didn't have a credit history either. Since if you have one of these cards your unlikley to qualify for an overdraft, loan, credit card they don't make much money for the banks and many of them might offer the facility but not advertise it. Thats how i remember it anyway
Kat Since i got a moment, here is a ltilte more history for those interested.Originally when debit cards were introduced ther were 4 basic cards. Solo, Maestro, Delta and Electron. Solo and Maestro were issued by the Mastercard (remember Access your flexible friend?) Banks (at that time Midland/HSBC and Nat West i think). Delta and Electron by the Visa Banks (Barclays and LLoyds). The rest of the Banks were mostly still Building Soc's then. Solo and Delta were debit cards AND cheque Guarantee Cards. Maestro and Electron were just debit cards with no Check Guarantee. This was when people still used cheques in shops. The Maestro/ Elctron Cards were issued to people with no credit history or a really bad credit history. The theory being that with these cards you couldn't go overdrawn. With the Solo/Delta cards you could run all over town writing cheques, even if you didn't have the cash in your account. Since people don't use cheques like that anymore there isn't the need for the differences so much, but i guess this is why banks still issue them to under people under 21. That way they can build a credit history and progress to the grown up card'. And as i mentioned above, when the government wanted to pay benefits by bank transfer they came in usefull then since many people on benefits didn't have a credit history either. Since if you have one of these cards your unlikley to qualify for an overdraft, loan, credit card they don't make much money for the banks and many of them might offer the facility but not advertise it. Thats how i remember it anyway