Scotia Visa spurs debit card usage online
Published:Sunday | January 8, 2012 | 12:00 AM
The Scotia Visa Debit card, introduced in August 2011 by the Scotiabank Jamaica, has given fillip to the online shopping sector and other e-transactions.
"As early as October, we saw an unprecedented number of international transactions," said Tamiko Sadler, director of product development.
"There were 11,000 international transactions in October for Visa Debit," said Sadler.
Each of the online transactions attracts a two per cent fee.
The ScotiaCard Visa Debit was launched in August. At the launch, the bank targeted some 500,000 Jamaicans for distribution of the card.
The bank has not provided an update on this, nor on actual spending online, but said 'the driver' for its use is the convenience of access to more than four million merchants worldwide who accept Visa.
not a credit card
"It is important to note that the ScotiaCard Visa Debit is not a credit card and as such customers can only use money that they have in their accounts," said Monique Todd, Scotiabank's vice-president of marketing, corporate affairs and public relations.
For Jamaicans who travel overseas, the ScotiaCard Visa Debit card also allows access to their own funds from ATMs in Jamaica and worldwide. Visa operates in 170 countries.