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Anyone who has traveled to Europe knows they are way ahead of most of America when it comes to credit / debit card security. When you go to checkout after dining at a restaurant the attendant comes to you and shows you the total on a hand unit and you then place you card into the unit and have a chance to enter your pin. It is simple and you never surrender your card.
There are some restaurants in the US that have for some time now (like as far back as 2015) made smart choices like Olive Garden that has placed secure card payment terminals on each table to make paying quick and simple and when you want to with little or no input from anyone unless you have an issue.
But it seems some restaurants in Myrtle Beach, to combat “dine and dashers”, are taking the stupid step of demanding both your ID and Credit Card before you order and holding them until you are ready to go.
Really?
This is the exact opposite of anyone who values their private information. Just think of what someone unscrupulous could do or the risk of your card being lost or given to someone who is not you accidentally!
The article from The Sun News links to a Facebook post from one of the restaurants that has implemented this bone head idea but it seems to have been wisely taken down at this point.
Is it OK for stores to even try this? Visa, Mastercard and Amex all have polices regarding this but the bottom line is that if a location demands this your only real choice is to say “no thanks” and walk out the door (what I would do 100% of the time).
I understand with prices out of control right now that restaurants need to do something to prevent loss but perhaps a better idea would be using a hand unit at the table and preauthorize a set amount that will then be reversed once you pay and check out (like pay at the pump often does or a hotel hold as an example).
What do you think? Would you willing hand over your ID and card and let them hold it till you were ready to pay? Is there a better solution? Would you walk out if this policy was presented to you? Let me know. – René
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No way! I had several issues with credit – card fraud over the last years (mainly AMEX covered all of them!) but I know the questions. If someone tells I gave away my card and my ID – I guess ervery Crditcard-Company would say: “your problem”.
I understand the restaurants wants to be safe – I think it would be heplful to staff around to cover guests needs after ordering a meal. Maybe the root cause are not mad guests – but a lack of service staff?
Wait a minute. Don’t hotels ask for ID and actually swipe your credit card before checking in Why would doing this at a restaurant be so odd? You do this at the doctors office too. You pay up front at pizza and fast food places.
I completely understand them doing this.
@John – They do not hold it or walk away with it.
I doubt you even read the article. LOL. Nowhere in the article does it say that…it clearly States that they take your ID and CC and walk away and keep it until you’re ready to leave. HUGE DIFFERENCE my friend.
Another in a long line of reasons not to visit Florida. Such a backward place. No need to give my travel dollars to this dumpster fire of a state.
@Lance – Myrtle Beach in in South Carolina fyi.
lol
Poor Lance sounds like he self-identifies as geography ignorant.
There’s absolutely no way you’re getting my ID and walking away with it. If you need to temporarily walk away to swipe my credit card, you can take my Apple Card that has absolutely no info on it other than my name…and you best not be gone too long with that.
What’s wrong with businesses these days. Ya know what…never mind, I’ll dine elsewhere.
A lot of restaurants / bars here (not all, mind you) have started to adopt the handheld units. I would be fine with a pre-auth on one of those. Some also have POS systems that allow a pre-auth on a regular terminal – as long as it’s done immediately – like at the host stand or maybe securely through my reservation(??) if I used a card to hold it – I’d be fine.
If they wanted to hold on to it, probably not.
Absolutely will not do so
This is a tough one. The restaurants need to protect themselves from dine and dash. It is a high tourist area, which means being able to identify and pursue will be difficult at best. Not like they can print a picture to share with other restaurants to be on the lookout, as the people will be gone. Not the best plan, but what other options do they have.
Not like they can preauthorize before you order. At best they can demand payment on ordering, or swipe on arrival and build a tab, assuming they have a POS system that supports that. Fine for chains, but probably not used by local mom and pop places.
Myrtle Beach? I totally get it. Myrtle Beach is more at risk than most tourist locations. It is a top destination, ground zero, for college students. Spring break is complete chaos. I am sure that what they experience is much worse than the usual “dine and dash” risk.
We have ID theft they had cc with our names on them and fake ID with our names So ID is a joke. They should say cash only but our present admin can’t track you then so could be a problem !!
Tracking all credit card transactions was established by the PATRIOT Act, many, many years ago, under George W. Bush.
The real problem in Myrtle Beach is trying to find or use a restroom. Most businesses have no public restroom. They shouldn’t invite the public into shop, if they cannot provide a restroom. Many states / cities have laws requiring it, but apparently not in Myrtle Beach.
This is not OK and I’ll give you the #1 reason. About 8 years ago, my local Sonny’s BBQ restaurant had a cashier on the take by local drug dealers. This was just before we all had chip cards. When I gave my card to the waitress, she took it to the front desk, which doubles as the take-out window. All transactions are processed there. The cashier cloned my card and handed off the cloned data to the addict (whom I naively passed as I left the establishment). It was a MasterCard check card, no less. Fortunately, because the cloned transactions were run as full credit card transactions (cloning my card doesn’t allow for detecting the PIN) and my bank reversed them all. I suffered nothing more than the inconvenience of awaiting the arrival of a new card by snail mail. No financial loss befell me. Even so, I wrote a letter to my local sheriff’s office and Secret Service office. That said, I sympathize with the restaurants. What they should do is what filling stations do with pay-at-the-pump: authorize $200 at the beginning and then adjust down when the final amount is known. I wouldn not patronize any restaurant which demanded my card and ID. I would tell them to pound sand.
The only thing dumber would be for a hotel to require a well-known travel blogger and his wife to surrender their passports at the front desk before they are allowed to accompany a registered hotel guest to see what a room looks like. Then being told the clock is running and that they must exit the hotel within the hour.