Editing Debit card (section)

===United Kingdom===
In the [[United Kingdom|UK]] debit cards (an integrated EFTPOS system) are an established part of the retail market and are widely accepted by both physical and internet stores. The term EFTPOS is not widely used by the public; "debit card" is the generic term used. Debit cards issued are predominantly [[Visa Debit]], with [[Debit Mastercard]] becoming increasingly common. [[Maestro (debit card)|Maestro]], [[Visa Electron]] and [[UnionPay]] are also in circulation. Banks do not charge customers for EFTPOS transactions in the UK, but some retailers used to make small charges, particularly for small transaction amounts. However, the UK Government introduced legislation on 13 January 2018 banning all surcharges for card payments, including those made online and through services such as [[PayPal]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/card-surcharge-ban-means-no-more-nasty-surprises-for-shoppers|title=Card surcharge ban means no more nasty surprises for shoppers|website=GOV.UK|access-date=2019-01-19|archive-date=2019-01-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120043129/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/card-surcharge-ban-means-no-more-nasty-surprises-for-shoppers|url-status=live}}</ref> The UK has converted all debit cards in circulation to [[EMV|Chip and PIN]] (except for Chip and Signature cards issued to people with certain disabilities and non-reloadable prepaid cards), based on the [[EMV]] standard, to increase transaction security; however, PINs are not required for Internet transactions (though some banks employ additional security measures for online transactions such as Verified by Visa and MasterCard Secure Code), nor for most contactless transactions.

In the United Kingdom, banks started to issue debit cards in the mid-1980s to reduce the number of cheques being used at the point of sale, which are costly for the banks to process; the first bank to do so was [[Barclays]] with the ''Barclays Connect'' card. As in most countries, fees paid by merchants in the UK to accept credit cards are a percentage of the transaction amount,<ref name="electronic-payments.co.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.electronic-payments.co.uk/pricing.jsp |title=Electronic payment system pricing |publisher=RSTO electronic-payments.co.uk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821153136/http://electronic-payments.co.uk/pricing.jsp |archive-date=2008-08-21 }}</ref> which funds cardholders' interest-free credit periods as well as incentive schemes such as points or cashback. For consumer credit cards issued within the EEA, the interchange fee is capped at 0.3%, with a cap of 0.2% for debit cards, although the merchant acquirers may charge the merchant a higher fee. Most debit cards in the UK lack the advantages offered to holders of UK-issued credit cards, such as free incentives (points, cashback etc.; the [[Tesco Bank]] debit card was one exception), interest-free credit and protection against defaulting merchants under [http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/39/section/75 Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974]. Almost all establishments in the UK that accept credit cards also accept debit cards. Some merchants, for cost reasons, accept debit cards but not credit cards, and some smaller retailers only accept card payments for purchases above a certain value, typically £5 or £10.

The 21st century has seen an increase in Challenger banks in the United Kingdom, with benefits including fee-free overseas spending. Notable challenger banks include [[Monzo]], [[Revolut]] and [[Starling Bank]].