Do Any Banks or Credit Unions Still Issue ATM Cards?

[galaxyhi]

We have an ATM (ONLY) card from our CU.

It only has the CUs logo and name on it.
No mc or Visa logo.

Its only usable at an ATM.

So, yes, they do, at least in my area.at least at my CU.

[old_cold]

You made me look since I rarely use it but it's from Chase and only says "ATM Card"

[Petunia 100]

Originally Posted by MikeQBF

So... do ATM cards still exist? Anywhere? Or have we been duped into accepting the screen-door-on-a-submarine level of security of debit cards?

Probably not. But, you can choose to use it just like an ATM card.

I never use mine to make purchases, NEVER, because a hacked debit card number causes more inconvenience than does a hacked credit card number. I only use it at a bank ATM.

[MikeQBF]

Originally Posted by Petunia 100

Probably not. But, you can choose to use it just like an ATM card. ...

That's not the point. True ATM cards and traditional credit cards have statutory consumer protections (such as fraud liability limits) that debit cards do not.

When a bank says they will cover your debit card for fraud, it is by policy, mostly driven by marketing. When push comes to shove, "policy" tends to get bent, and not in your favor. You will also note in your Ferengi-print debit card terms and conditions, any disputes are covered by mandatory arbitration, and they get to pick the arbitrator. A debit card is about as secure as carrying around a book of signed blank checks, and setting it to PIN-only just secures, minimally, in-person transactions at a terminal. With online transactions or manual carbon forms run through a "knuckle buster" (old-style credit card slip machine), a debit card is as secure as a screen door on a submarine.

Anyway...

I have spoken with account officers at six local banks and credit unions. One rep was sympathetic to my concerns, as she experienced her personal debit card hacked and checking account drained despite knowledgeable precautions. Two banks confirmed they could issue traditional "just an ATM" cards. One credit union where I know the president is still looking into it for me, it's a matter of their processor understanding what I'm after.

The others didn't have one, although I have a hunch that at one bank the smiley-faced account rep wasn't interested in going any further than her training on their consumer product offerings. Shame she was new and didn't realize that I was a principle on one of their more visible corporate accounts, but that's another discussion.

To answer the original question, yes, you can still get traditional ATM cards, but you gotta dig. The problem appears to be Visa over-selling their debit products to smaller institutions in what I've been told (during this process) is Visa's aggressive push to create a cashless society. To their benefit, obviously.

[UNC4Me]

They do still exist, but many banks and credit unions are doing away with them. In my experience (and I work for the card services division of a banking/CU software company so it’s decades of experience) ATM only cards are rarely requested by customers and are expensive for the institutions to keep. They make money on debit/credit cards and typically lose money on ATM cards.

Used to be almost 100% of the institutions I work with had ATM cards. Now it’s maybe 50% and I expect the trend to drop them will continue.

[TimtheGuy]

Originally Posted by MikeQBF

NOT debit cards, "old-fashioned" ATM cards. They're different things, they work over different processing networks. Just like credit cards, there are consumer-oriented rules regulating ATM cards, versus debit cards, which are an open door into the attached checking account with no statutory consumer protections. Sure, a lot of banks, etc., say they will "protect you" from fraud, but that's a policy, not something they are required to do by law, and when push comes to shove that policy can suddenly change.

An ATM card does not have the Visa or MasterCard logo on it, and works only for transactions at ATMs and select retailers who participate in the ATM network.

I am having what has become a pitched battle with our credit union over their forcing us to take a debit card connected to our primary checking account, cancelling the ATM cards. After 25 years with this CU we are about to move our accounts... but to where? I have been chatting with the president of a small local credit union and would move our money there to at least have fee-free access to cash, but she is concerned that our occasional large transaction activity creates too big a liability for them to handle.

So... do ATM cards still exist? Anywhere? Or have we been duped into accepting the screen-door-on-a-submarine level of security of debit cards?

yes, straight ATM cards do still exist.

[MikeQBF]

Originally Posted by UNC4Me

... They make money on debit/credit cards and typically lose money on ATM cards. ...

And there you have it.

[glass_of_merlot]

USAA issued one for me about 10 years ago.