Wednesday, July 15, 1992 — North Shore News - 20

Propucep FoR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS Or Nortu SHORE Crepir UNION

: 7 | Will that be cash or direct payment, please? _
44. while ago, there was a lot | Pl astic takes Over
ee,

of talk about a big earthquake here
on the west coast. No one seems to
know whether itll happen 15 minutes
from now or 15 years. But one thing
we do know, there will be .
tremendous property damage. One l)
UBC professor pegs the cost ata ~
minimum of $14 billion.

That concerns me because I’m
Mike O’Connor of NORCU
Insurance, a fully owned subsidiary
of North Shore Credit Union.

Figures like that beg the question: do
you have a good policy on your a
home? If yow don’t know the answer,’ | piss or plastic do you have in

there? The average British

turn to the back maa / A . Columbian has six charge cards,
according to one research firm. And

that doesn’t even include ATM
cards, health care cards and the like.
Wouldn't it be nice to have
just one?
That may happen in
the not too distant future
_ because of something
called “direct payment”
cards, These clever little
” things are, in effect, a
combination card — -
they’ll give you ATM
access as well as payment
privileges at grocery
® stores, gas stations, and
other retail outlets.

How do they work?
As the name suggests,
direct payment cards
allow you to pay for
your purchases directly
from your own bank
account, eliminating . -
the credit card company. In fact,
debit cards, such as our MasterCard,
allow you to do this right now; the
difference is the payment card works
electronically, instantly.

What happens in the store?
In a typical scenario, you’d app-
roach the cashier, hand over your

ACHIINISTRATION OFFICE
ole - 1112 Lonsdale Ave.

North Vancouver, B.C. ¥7M 2H2
Phone: 980-4728
Mon, - Fri, 8:30 - 5:00

SPRING & SUMMER/92

card, and enter your personal
identification number (PIN) into a
keypad in front of you. Through the
magic of a vast computer network,
the value of your purchase would be
instantly subtracted from your
account and added to the retailer's.
In other words, a payment card is
an instantaneous cheque without all
the messy paper.
- And if you need extra funds not
in your chequing account, most
y payment cards have a line of ©
credit attached to them.

Who accepts them?

Good question. Last year, the :

concept was tested in the’
Ottawa/Hull region, mainly through
grocery storés and gas stations.
These outlets will likely be the first
ones to jump on the concept here in
B.C., too. This will take a year or
two, however.

Prior to that, direct payment cards
will be used to access ATMs. In fact,
right now if you walked up to one
of our ATMs with a payment card
and a PIN number, you would be
able to get cash.

Where can ¥ get one?

From us. Most credit unions have
decided to employ a common card,
“Member Card’. Over the next 12
months, you'll be sent one. It will
replace your existing ATM access
“CUE” card, regardless of when ~
your card expires.

=>

[=] NORTH SHORE
b= CREDIT UNION

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SAWOOSdI'T SPIHS ‘NOLLVHLSNTI