This may be a stupid question but it was asked of me and I'm just not sure how to answer. Do debit cards (ours are MasterCard) have to be attached to a checking account? It has been discussed that we may do away with our ATM cards and we will simply issue debit cards in all instances. For example - if a customer opens a savings account and wants an ATM card then we would issue a MasterCard debit card and it would only be allowed to be used at an ATM, as POS transactions are now allowed on our savings accounts. Is there any rule stating that a debit card must be attached to a checking account?

Thanks so much!

There are no requirements that a debit card can only be attached to a checking, but restricting a Mastercard debit card to ATM use only will likely run afoul of Mastercard rule 6.4 regarding selective authorizations. If the bank elects to no longer issue stand alone ATM cards, the logical choice is to only provide ATM access to savings accounts if the customer also has a checking account with a debit card. This ultimately comes down to a business/customer service decision and how much demand we even have for this service from customers that only have savings accounts.

Without the express prior written approval of the Corporation, a Customer must not launch or maintain a Card Program that has the effect of selectively authorizing Transactions arising from use of the Cards and Accounts at only a subset of Mastercard or Maestro acceptance locations.
A Customer may authorize or decline individual Transactions based on:
1. The amount of funds or credit available;
2. Fraud or credit risks presented by individual Cardholder usage patterns;
3. Cash access restrictions to manage a secured or high risk account;
4. Cardholder-designated restrictions on use; or
5. Any other restriction on use the Corporation may permit.

Does VISA have a similar rule?

It does. And remember once upon a time VISA's marketing catch phrase was "Everywhere you want to be." If I have a VISA debit card in my hand that I cannot use at any merchant because it is restricted to ATMs, VISA will consider that potentially damaging to their brand. For the small number of customers that this may inconvenience, I cannot see my way to forcing this square peg into a round hole.

1.5.1.7 Authorization Rejection Based on Internal Tables

In the AP, Canada, CEMEA, LAC, and US Regions, an Acquirer must not selectively reject or decline Authorization Requests based on an internally developed table of BINs or Account Numbers. This prohibition includes tables developed using the electronic or online version of the Client Directory.
In the Europe Region, an Acquirer must not develop tables of BINs or Account Numbers using the electronic or online version of the Client Directory. In the US Region, this prohibition does not include Authorization Requests originating from a Limited Acceptance Merchant for Account Numbers that contain a BIN not accepted by the Merchant.

Thank you Brian!

Thank you Brian - the question comes up every couple of years because we have a small number of ATM cardholders still on our system.