[flukus]

That's a cost that should be worn by the merchant, if they aren't going to check that money is available in the account then that's their problem.

Is their anywhere else in the western world that has these problems? Or even the developing world?

[snuxoll]

The biggest places you used to see this were gas stations, they'd put a $10 hold on your account and then post the transaction for whatever you actually purchased - this two-phase process also exists at restaurants for tips.

The gas station issue has been mostly solved, debit networks now allow you to query the available balance on the linked account - I've been embarrassed once a few years ago when the pump only allowed me to put a couple dollars worth of gas in the tank because I had overdraft protection turned off (not an issue these days, I'm in much better financial health).

The issue with restaurants will eventually be solved when they are forced to switch to EMV and require you to put the tip in before the card is run, not writing it on the receipt. But who knows when they'll be forced to, the liability shift obviously hasn't bothered them much.