Debit cards are safe to use, although there is some perception that they can be open to abuse. Although some precautions should be taken with their use, debit cards themselves are safe.
The main worry is that debit cards directly access a bank account’s balance, rather than having their own separate account as credit cards do. With a credit card, there is always the reassurance that the bank or issuing financial institution will be stuck with any fraudulent transactions.
As well, debit cards can now be associated with various types of bank accounts, including lines of credit, some types of home loans, and savings accounts. There’s a lot more money now accessible through debit cards than through many credit cards.
In fact, though, a debit card offers the same protection as a credit card and most have zero liability guarantees. These guarantees ensure that the debit card provider will make good any fraudulent transactions made on the debit card.
However, the zero liability guarantees do have a couple of conditions attached. The first is that the debit card provider must be told in good time if there is an unauthorised transaction charged to the card. For this reason, bank statements should be read with care as soon as they’re received and each transaction identified. As well, for bank accounts that include online access, transactions should be tracked as they occur and balances monitored at least every few days.
Another condition for debit cards with zero liability guarantees is that the debit card holder must not co-operate with the fraud. If the account holder loans his or her debit card to another person, even if it’s for a totally different purchase than the one actually made, then the zero liability guarantee is voided ad the debit card provider will not reimburse the account holder.
There are other precautions that should be made, particularly when using a debit card while shopping at a website with its own shopping cart service. It is usually a good idea to patronise only websites which are trusted. If there is any doubt, another website should be chosen.
