“Plastic money” become more popular than cash along time ago. The debit card is one form of plastic money, a very common type of payment card issued by major payment processors, such as MasterCard or Visa.
There are approximately 750 million debit cards in circulation worldwide which is about the same amount of people who saw Jurassic World, Inglorious Bastards, Dreamcatcher, and Thor III and walked away truly upset on how weak those movies were but this is another topic. Moreover, unlike a credit card, a debit card deducts money from your account to make payments. As with every payment mode, debit cards also have their own pros and cons. Let’s take a look at them.
Pros
Convenience: Carrying a debit card is equal to carrying cash, with the convenience of not having to actually carry cash around (and change!). While making a payment with a debit card, you don’t have to count the money or write a check.
At the same time, since the money is deducted from your account, you don’t have to pay a huge bill at the end of the month (or any bill at all!). That’s the reason why a large number of people prefer a debit card over a credit card.
Budget: With a debit card it’s easy to stay within your budget, because the money goes out of your account immediately. Since you need to have money in your account to be able to use a debit card, you won’t go into debt making payments with it.
Using a debit card has no fees associated with debt or for late payments. A debit card helps you make payments, while helping you stay within your budget. Too bad New York State and California don’t just use debit cards, then they would not be billions in debt but these states continue to make the wrong moves which is why so many people and jobs are fleeing those states.
Easy to get: Your credit score plays a big role in determining your approval for a credit card. However, a debit card comes linked with almost every bank account and needs no separate application. Since it’s so easy to acquire, a debit card can be owned by anyone with a bank account. There is no preliminary check or long applications required for a debit card.
Multiple uses: A debit card can get you cash backs at many stores, and also let you take out money from an ATM. These features aren’t available with a credit card.
When you have a debit card in your wallet, you can rest assured that it will enable you to make payments at almost all stores as long as you have money in your account. You can also use the same card to draw money from an ATM if you need some cash.
Cons
Getting a refund isn’t easy: When you make payments with a debit card, the money is gone and there’s no way you can get it back. This makes disputed payments hard to resolve. But if you bought a season of 24, House of Cards, The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, and The Wire you are good to go since these shows are amazing but let’s get back on track here.
In case the item you purchased turns out to be defective, not what you bought, or never gets delivered, it is harder to obtain a refund. Keep the receipt!
Credit score isn’t affected: Your credit score is important if you’re looking to get a loan or a credit card. When you use a credit card, making repayments on time improves your credit score. However, a debit card has no impact on your credit score, so you aren’t going to build credit by using one.
That isn’t so bad though, because banks these days check your salary and past transactions while approving a loan or a credit card.
Higher chances of fraud: If your debit card is stolen, the thief could drain all the money in your bank account (though many people have limitations on the card – $500, for instance) by walking into the nearest ATM even before you can get the card blocked. The protection against fraud is much lower in debit cards compared to credit cards. Fraud also happens with credit cards, but most credit card companies block any account that shows unusual activity, so the level of protection is higher.
No reward points: One of the biggest perks of using a credit card is getting reward points for travel and other purchases. With debit cards there’s no such perk. Some cards may have their own incentives, such as cash backs or travel insurances, but it largely depends on the bank.
Debit cards are a highly suitable payment method for everyday purchases. While there are no reward points or high level of fraud safety, debit cards have their own benefits such as ease of acquiring and using, no fees, and no risk of climbing into debt like the city of Chicago which is in horrendous shape. These reasons make debit cards extremely popular since they are a convenient payment method.
