The Laser card was a debit card brand which was in use until recently in the Republic of Ireland. All the major Irish financial institutions and banks recognised or issued these cards, and they were the standard form of debit card to be issued in Ireland at the turn of the century. In many ways, the situation surrounding the demise of the Laser card was somewhat similar to the circumstances in the United Kingdom regarding the Switch brand. Laser, like Switch, was unique to its home country, which meant that customers frequently faced difficulties when attempting to use their cards abroad. Irish Laser card holders would often discover, like British Switch card users, that foreign retailers and overseas based online traders would not recognise nor accept these cards as payment.
For this reason, banks started to transfer their credit and debit card brands over to the more internationally recognised brands of Visa and MasterCard. In Ireland, the decision to begin the withdrawal of the Laser card was taken in 2007, and the Laser card was finally withdrawn in February 2014, at which point transactions were no longer accepted at Irish banks at all, bringing to an end almost twenty years of continuous service. At its peak in 2011, the laser card was being used by three million account holders across the Irish Republic. But now Irish customers, like their United Kingdom counterparts, are required to use Visa and MasterCard debit cards to complete their online and real world transactions. Whilst it is always a shame to lose these smaller, uniquely national brands, at least customers can now be assured that they can use their cards wherever in the world they happen to be.
Debit cards are an inexpensive and reliable means of making online payments wherever you are, because you are using your own money, from your own personal bank account when you use them. This means that (provided you do not exceed your overdraft limit) you do not have to pay any interest on the money you spend, unlike when you use a credit card, which entails borrowing the money. This results in the customer having to pay interest charges, if payment of the outstanding balance is not made in full by the end of the monthly statement period. There are not usually any transaction charges for the customer either, although the merchant or retailer may be charged a facilitation or commission fee instead.
Debit cards are therefore a popular way of making online payments, because of the simplicity, speed and low cost of the transaction. It is also very convenient and relatively secure, as all payments made online to reputable traders are protected from interception by the banks’ secure networks and encryption of any data transmitted via the internet, using the https protocol.
For these reasons, debit cards remain a very popular and practical means of making payments to online bingo companies. Sadly, the Laser card is no more, but its replacements, namely the Visa and MasterCard are worthy alternatives. To find out the best places to use your trusted debit card to play bingo online, look out for our invaluable site reviews here at Busy Bee.