191–200 of 267 posts
Really, with Visa budgets one expects they could hire somebody to express the same sentiment in a comprehensible manner that doesn't make everybody seeing it go "WTF?!"
I've been having enormous trouble understanding the thinking behind the "We are proud to only accept Visa" marketing campaign. I simply can't understand how it could be viewed positively by any consumer - it's such an obviously anti-customer thing to do. I've been trying really hard to understand why Visa would make such an obviously unfriendly and counter-productive decision. The only theory I can come up with is th…
Consumers learn something crucial from this marketing campaign: that American Express and certain other credit cards are NOT accepted by some merchants, so it's a good idea to get and always carry a Visa card -- by implication, the only card accepted everywhere.
So, I'd say it indeed may be a good idea to have a Visa card - along with their competitor's cards.
Although I agree it's annoying and negative marketing, it's also being completely overblown here. This stuff is just a minor marketing gimmick. Paying with credit card is in itself rare in most of the world outside the US, where debit cards and cash are way more common. My guess is, 95% of all locals and non-US visitors automatically pay with cash and don't even notice the Visa-only signs. Not having the local curren…
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A lot of us in Vancouver really resented the "only accepts Visa" thing. It was particularly aggravating in Canada where most people pay with a bank debit card, not Visa or Mastercard. That said, it's not surprising that the overall effect of the sponsorship was positive since refusing MasterCard and debit was only one small aspect of Visa's campaign. Reading about this again in London made me all riled up again, but…
My bank debit card... IS Visa. I don't think I would have been able to get one that wasn't.
Although I agree it's annoying and negative marketing, it's also being completely overblown here. This stuff is just a minor marketing gimmick. Paying with credit card is in itself rare in most of the world outside the US, where debit cards and cash are way more common. My guess is, 95% of all locals and non-US visitors automatically pay with cash and don't even notice the Visa-only signs. Not having the local curren…
I really can't think of anything within the Olympic venue that would be considered appropriate to pay for with credit card.
What are your criteria for 'appropriate' when it comes to paying with credit card? On my way to work today I dropped by a news agent and bought an apple and something to drink, paid with my credit card, and no one thought that was the slightest bit strange.
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>or that research firm doesn't get hired again. This is the key part. Research funded by biased parties can produce valid research and results. There is the case of the physicist that was skeptical of global warming that was funded by the Koch brothers to study global warming. As a scientist, at a well known college for physics, he was skeptical but not blinded by money/politics. His research changed is mind complete…
Out of curiousity, do you have a link to the study or a writeup? I'd love to read it.
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-kochfunded-climat...
My sympathy goes to the writer, but honestly, if you turn up at any major sporting event, anywhere in the world, without CASH, then you are asking for trouble. Cash is still king especially with small vendors, cafes, people selling hot dogs, etc. I'd never go anywhere like that without a plentiful supply.
More realistically, Visa was probably hoping that many consumers would, like the author, already have the option of and be forced into using their Visa card. I agree that this seems, in addition to being extremely frustrating to almost all consumers, a silly marketing move, but I'm sure that Visa has run the numbers and has a sound business reason for doing this. Since, judging by mthoms's post, this seems to be a tr…
A better marketing approach to this would have been to silently only accept VISA and never call attention to the fact that there is an arrangement behind the scenes. Still pretty awful for your potential customers.
This would be a bit of scumbaggery but pure marketing genius I say.
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My bank debit card... IS Visa. I don't think I would have been able to get one that wasn't.
In Canada, debit cards are run by a not-for-profit venture founded by the major banks called Interac. Everybody's standard ATM bank card is usable as a debit card. This is the most common method of payment in the country.