The Bank of Butterfield has unveiled its new version of debit cards and has started mailing them out to current BankCard Plus ATM card holders.

Unlike the Bank of Bermuda, there are three cards to choose from, including an "ATM Card'' expected to be used by company executives who wish to deposit large sums of cash after hours, without predictably going to specific night deposit boxes.

The bank took the opportunity of the launch to bring on line a service they say merchants have long asked for. The option to deposit at ATM locations provides better security, cutting travel time and increasing the number of locations a deposit can be made.

Providing access to 243,000 ATM locations worldwide including the bank's own ATMs, the ATM card can not be used at a merchant location, but only at an ATM.

The bank expects the most widely issued card will be the "MasterDebit'', providing access to your accounts from over 13 million MasterCard locations and 243,000 ATM locations.

The versatile card, backed by MasterCard, can be used at any business or ATM displaying the Cirrus, Maestro or MasterCard logo.

But one drawback is that to obtain this card, you must have a chequing account in good order. That's ironic because the demand for more card-based services was driven, in part, by a desire to abandon the use of cheques. Their competitor's EasyLink card, backed by Visa, imposes no such restriction.

Bank executives said that it was a MasterCard stipulation, as the bank's credit checks on current account holders would have been more stringent than those for savings accounts. It is the MasterCard backing that provides security for merchants.

Those with a savings account ATM card, but no chequing or current account, will receive the Maestro Card. Just Like the MasterDebit Card, it can be used at the 333,000 merchant locations worldwide, and 450 locally that display the Maestro logo.

But while they will have access to the MasterCard or Cirrus logoed ATMs, Maestro Card members will not have access to the 13 million merchant locations worldwide displaying the MasterCard symbol.

Those receiving new cards over the next few weeks only have to use them at an one of the bank's 27 local ATM machines to activate them, before destroying the old ones. Stores will display the relevant logos indicating which cards they accept.