Posts Tagged ‘visa check cards’

Debit cards: Pros vs the Cons

Debit cards are useful in a lot of ways. For instance, a payday loan can be deposited into your bank account within hours of your online loan application being approved. It’s your money, spend it how you wish, whether it’s a cash withdrawal, personal check, or debit card. During this recession, many have begun using the latter more and more instead of making credit card purchases. Some are already familiar with the convenience of plastic, but may not know the pros and cons of debit cards.

Pros of debit cards

Debit cards can hamper impulse spending. They can’t eliminate this problem, but their use can curb it to some extent. Debit cards, unlike credit cards, will only cover purchases if the money to cover it is in the bank. A debit card is tied to cash, in that money is deducted (or debited) from your account after the transaction. This is unlike credit card spending, which allows a certain spending limit followed by installment payments to pay for charges later. A debt card lacks this feature. As a result, for most people, this means thinking twice before spending cash that will severely skew their budget.

Merchants that don’t accept personal checks are more inclined to take debit cards for transactions. This makes using debit cards as convenient as a credit card at the point of sale. Debit cards can be referred to as Visa check cards, and have the Visa logo, and others have the MasterCard logo. This means that wherever MasterCard or Visa is accepted, debit cards with the logo is accepted there as well.

The cons of using a debit card

Unlike what is offered with most major credit cards, cash advances or a line of credit is not offered to debit card holders. Therefore, when emergency cash is needed or when fast cash is needed to help a person survive until their next paycheck, a debit card is of no help. However, a person in this situation, even with bad credit, may be able to consider a loan till payday or a cash advance from a company offering personal loans.

Federal regulations, which protect credit card consumers, do not apply to debit cards. This means that in a dispute over charges, the consumer has little recourse once money has been debited from their account.

Banks that issue debit cards with checking account sometimes assess fees when the cards are used. While this practice is becoming more and more obsolete, consumers are advised to check with their individual bank before using debit cards and accruing possible fees. Be sure to ask about using the card to get cash from other banks or ATM machines. Some don’t impose fees on transactions, but it’s common for banks to charge when a card is used at another bank or a private ATM machine.

A debit card that gets lost or stolen can be quite costly, depending on the state you live in and when it goes missing. While very limited protection may be offered, consumers should be aware of their level of protection ahead of time. For instance, if someone does not report their card missing within 48 hours of a thief taking it, it is possible for the original card holder to be left with some or all of the liability on purchases and cash withdrawals made by the thief. The liability depends on the bank’s policies and state laws governing such limits.

While debit cards definitely come with advantages, such as providing immediate access to cash advance or personal loan deposits, the drawbacks involved with using them can be costly if a person is not very careful. Overall, however, they offer freedom from high interest rates while offering many of the same conveniences as a credit card. Debit cards don’t help you build credit, but they also don’t have the risk of damaging credit as credit cards do.