Question on Debit Cards. Some people acually alot of people say dont use debit cards. My question is why not use them?

People cant use a debit card unless you have a PIN number so you should be safe correct?

Maybe you're thinking about people saying don't use credit cards? I cant ever see a problem with a Debit card since you are using money from your account and its safer than walking around with the cash.

Some people on WHT said dont use Debit Cards because if you use them people can take more money out of the account then they are suppose to?

Serious? I was going to find a Debit card from HSBC. This will manage my bills easily.

People tell you not to use Debit Cards primarily because many banks that issue them do not always provide the same theft/fraud liability limit as the credit card issuers, $50. And when they do, often their notification time is shorter, i.e., if you don't notice the fraudulent pruchase, you could be on the hook for up to the entire amount, although most all banks have good policies nowadays.

To make things worse, with a debit card, you end up fighting the bank to get back your own money, not the creditor's money. Even if you get a full refund, it can take several weeks, in the meantime, you bounce the mortgage, car payment, etc.

PS- I use my debit card exclusively, but I'm in MA, where the legislature applied the same laws to debit cards regarding the $50 limit.

Originally posted by WCHost
Serious? I was going to find a Debit card from HSBC. This will manage my bills easily. Yes, if a merchant has your CC number or Debit #, they can charge whatever, it doesn't matter what kind of card it is. It's just a stupid business practice and will likely end up costing the merchant tons in fines, maybe jail time, and revocation of Merchant accounts, etc. that's why Merhcant's don't do it.

so only use a debit card if you only trust the people?

I'm going to assume you trust anyone before giving them any kinds of funds, so just check with your bank as to their fraud & theft liability policies on debit cards, take a quick phone call...

What I ment by "trust" for example web hosting you really dont know a the web host, but if you go by there reputation say on WHT that would be a kind of trust I guess.

:eek:

I know, I was just breaking your ***** :)

Seriously, call your bank, you're probably well protected.

thanks for the comments I am going to be making a call right now!

I actually read in fortune magazine about WalMart taking to court visa/mastercard.

This coming year, debit card oayment will exceed credit payments.

http://www.visamediacenter.com/walmart_benefits.html#_ftn1

Originally posted by Vortex-Steve
Maybe you're thinking about people saying don't use credit cards? I cant ever see a problem with a Debit card since you are using money from your account and its safer than walking around with the cash.

iirc if you use a debit card and get ripped off you have absolutely no comeback whatsoever, it is just like you popping along to the bank withdrawing the money and handing it over.


whereas with credit cards you are protected to some degree from fraud or having your card cloned.......

i would certainl not ever use my debit card for online trading, i am even dubious about some shops.......

Phill, debit cards in the UK have no liability protection at all? Are you sure?

edit: I'm assuming you're in the UK, because they do have protections in the U.S.

as i say as far as i'm aware we dont have any at all.. its just like handing over cash..

in the uk basically it comes down to if you buy on your credit card you have loads of protection and the card company will back you up, if you buy on debit you have to file a grievance with your bank and it takes forever and theyll just tell you to take it to small claims court. I tend to put nearly everything on credit and pay it off.

with a debit card the money is taken out right away, and whoever it was already has the money and your out of it, atleast with credit card you can choose to chargeback etc, and dont have the immediate risk of having your money gone at that second.

I use my debit card for everything, no problems so far.

I also use my debit card for everything (online or otherwise)... never had a single problem.

The disadvantages of using a debit card are already posted but I'll briefly recap:[list=1]
Liability -- read the contract between you and your bank (that two to four page "brochure" filled margin to margin with 6 to 7 point type). Most, if not all banks do not give the same liability limitations on debit cards that they do with credit cards.
Disputes -- assuming that you can dispute a transaction, the dispute is happening with your "hard" money, not the bank's "soft" money. Many people are going to have a hard time paying their rent or mortgage once they realize that their debit account has been fraudulently emptied.
No PIN -- someone made a reference to using a PIN. To use a PIN, regulations require hardware encryption of the PIN information at the point of entry. While this is a good thing security wise, thus far it is impossible to achieve for e-commerce or web based transactions (either because of technology or regulation limitations).
[/list=1] While I do not believe that "credit" cards are a perfect solution, for e-commerce transactions and "piece of mind", they are better solution than their "debit" counterparts. If you can get a credit card, and you manage it like a debit account and pay it in full every month, they are a much safer debit.

Now if technology and the regulations advance to the point where you can securely and confidently do PIN'ed transactions over the Internet, then my entire argument gets thrown out the window...

now maybe i am out of the loop here... but what about debit cards that bear the visa or mastercard logo?

Originally posted by theqase
now maybe i am out of the loop here... but what about debit cards that bear the visa or mastercard logo? That is what I was referring to. The agreement between the cardholder and the bank is different between VISA/MasterCard debit cards and VISA/MasterCard credit cards...

i use my debit card all the time too. And, like everyone else here, no problem.

To me, the "I have not been burned" argument is not a defensible position. Millions of people drive drunk every year with "no problem." Does that mean that they are better drivers or are they just luckier?

Sorry, I'm done now. I crossed "the line." I now sound like a credit card fanatic, which in reality, I'm not. I'm just scared to death to use my debit card for non PIN transactions.

I haven't had a problem using debit cards for just about everything. I have had to make chargebacks on them and my bank handled it the same as they would a credit card chargeback. Same with some unauthorized charges that I had happen once.
Do follow the advice about checking your bank's policy on protections, though.

Well I went to the bank and talked to them and talked to them and found some infomation out.

The bank is covered by Visa. They say if I am liable for something they will only charge up to 50 dollars of it (even if its 2000 dollars). They have a real good fraud plan from my bank :).