ACH transactions

[Graham Todd]

On Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:03:56 -0500
Tommy Trussell <tommy.trussell at gmail.com> wrote:

> Actually it is the other way around -- the new system preserves
> people's dignity. Many people already pay for food using credit and
> debit cards. SO people on a government food program swiping their card
> through the card reader look no different from the people who are
> swiping their bank card through the card reader. When they used to
> handle paper "food stamps" it was painfully obvious because the scrip
> looks quite different from standard currency.
[snipped]

Interesting that the government does this in the USA.  In the UK the
money is deposited by electronic transfer into the recipient's bank
account, and if the recipient does not have one, the government ensures
he or she gets one. That way they are free to spend their money as they
please, and they use the same kind of debit cards as those not on
benefit use.  

Debit cards are very widely used here, and credit cards less so.
Virtually anybody that opens a bank account receives a debit card, but
credit cards are issued only after an application is made and a more
rigorous credit check is made.

Is the system of issuing debit cards different here in the UK than in
the States?

-- 
Graham Todd