If you use Debit Bin Range Checking, during a POS transaction the pin pad reads the swiped card and compares its bin to the bin range file received weekly on the Eagle system. As a result, the customer is either steered toward a debit transaction, or not.
Due to limitations of the pin pad, once a customer swipes their card, a 30-second time out cycle begins. If the debit transaction threshold has not been reached for the transaction or the transaction is not completed (i.e. the clerk totals the transaction) in this time frame, the debit steering process will time out. The pin pad then displays the screen which allows the customer to choose the tender type, thus canceling the Debit Steering feature.
The customer is steered toward a debit transaction when the card supports pin-based debit, and the transaction meets the debit threshold.
The following occurs at POS:
The customer swipes their card.
Until the debit threshold has been reached, the pin pad prompts the customer to "please wait" as it checks to see if the total reaches the debit transaction threshold. When the debit threshold is reached, the pin pad automatically displays, as if the customer had already selected Debit.
If the customer enters their pin and selects Enter, the transaction is processed as a debit card.
If the customer selects Cancel, the pin pad goes back to the Select Transaction Type screen, where the customer can select Credit, Debit, or Cancel. Selecting Cancel from this screen returns the customer to the “Please Swipe Card” screen.
The customer is not steered toward a debit transaction due to one of the following reasons: 1) The card does not support pin-based debit, 2) The card supports pin-based debit, but the card's bin is not in the bin range file, or 3) The card supports pin-based debit, but the transaction does not meet the debit threshold amount.
The following occurs at POS:
The customer swipes their card.
If the card does support pin-based debit but the debit transaction threshold has not been reached, the pin pad prompts the customer to "please wait" as it checks to see if the final transaction total reaches the debit transaction threshold (which it does not reach in this scenario).
If the card does not support pin-based debit, or the card's bin is not in the bin range file, the "please wait" message does not display, because the debit threshold is not an issue in this scenario.
Once the clerk totals the transaction, the pin pad displays the transaction amount and allows the customer to select OK or Cancel.
If the customer selects OK, the system processes the transaction as a credit card.
If the customer selects Cancel, the pin pad goes back to the Select Transaction Type screen. From this screen, the customer can select Credit, Debit or Cancel. Selecting Credit or Debit processes the transaction accordingly. Selecting Cancel returns the customer to the “Please Swipe Card” screen.