When you insert or swipe your Debit Mastercard to pay in-store you need to select credit to ensure it’s correctly routed to Mastercard. If you press the cheque and savings then your transaction may be declined by some merchants.
Tap your card, use Apple Pay or Google Pay for a secure and convenient way to make purchases. Don’t forget, you can tap your card for all transaction amounts, and you may need to enter your PIN for larger transactions.
Why has my transaction been declined?
If your transaction has been declined, we recommend the following:
- Confirm that you have not locked your card. You can confirm this by following these steps to unlock your card.
- Confirm that your account has an available balance. You can confirm this by following these steps to check your account balance.
- If you’ve not used your card before, confirm that your card has been activated. You can follow these steps to activate your card.
- Confirm that your card has not expired. Cards will continue to work up until the last day of the expiry month.
- If your transaction is declined after entering a PIN, you can follow these steps to change your card PIN.
- If your transaction is declined when making a purchase online, check you have entered the correct card details.
Sometimes transactions can be declined due to reasons outside of our control. We recommend that you attempt to use your card at a different merchant to rule out any issues with your physical card.
If you continue to have transactions declined, you can follow these steps to request a replacement card via Macquarie Online Banking or the Macquarie Mobile Banking app.
Will I get surcharged for using debit?
A surcharge is an extra fee that some merchants may choose to apply, that’s added onto the cost of goods or services. This may occur when you press credit or insert your debit card at the checkout, or for contactless (tap) transactions when merchant-choice routing is used.
Merchants in Australia may choose to surcharge customers for using a debit, prepaid or credit card. They must clearly display the surcharge amount at either the register or point of payment.