Dunno if James is referring to carbon slips precisely there, which I don't think are around anymore, as opposed to the copies (now done without carbon slips in between) of an imprint voucher.
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Some places like the motels, for example Hotel Maria Bonita want to imprint card and ¨keep¨until you leave...for ¨deposit¨purposes. I know a lot of the car rental places do this.
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Also not sure how to read the use of square quotes there, but that's a perfectly legitimate practice for the business, and a relatively common one here, still. The only ways to secure a deposit or guarantee legitimately on a card are to:
1. swipe the card and get a signature on the electronic voucher
2. enter the card info manually and get a signature on the electronic voucher
3. take an imprint of the card and get signature on the imprinted voucher
Since many clients have cards that won't scan properly anymore, method 1 may be out, and it can be difficult for businesses to go the route of receiving permission for method 2 (special applications, approvals and insurance are required). The only other way to properly secure a deposit or guarantee is to go with method 3, which anyway is always automatically supplied to every vendor by the banks as a backup in case the electronic system is down. So just because a merchant is following that system does not mean the merchant is up to something.
Steve