Banking question-debit or credit

[dengood1]

Hey guys, this is a question for the financial wizards of this forum. I was recently ordering checks online for my father-in-law and when it asked how he wanted to pay he said credit card, not debit card because he said he heard that once you give a business permission to use your debit card once, they can make unauthorized transactions anytime they want to thereafter, whereas a credit card is protected if someone commits fraud. Aren't debit cards protected in the same way? Could some of you confirm or deny this claim because I've never heard that before and we'd like clarification.

Thanks,

Dennis

[Meghan]

This is a question for Killer, he is the bank man. I know my bank charges me if I use my check card as a debit, but if I tell them to run as a credit I do not get charged. I am interested to hear everyone's input.

[White95DodgeRam]

i work for bank of america, the only thing your allowing your bank to do is charge the debit fee (if applicable)...other than that its just like using a credit card

[NorahCRV]

I was told by a member service rep at my credit union, that using your credit card on-line affords you more "protection" - if the number is lifted, you are only liable for the first $50 in charges.

Whereas, there is no such protection on your debit card & your account could get into the red without you being aware til those cheques come bouncing back with all the attendant NSF fees. That would be a real mess to clear up, so I prefer to play it safe & use my credit card for on-line purchases, monitor the activity on the account & then pay it off at the end of the billing cycle.

Just my $ .02 (charged to my CC) ;)

[ScottB]

Last year new regulations were enacted to decipher the difference between a credit card and a debit card. Thus newer cards are required to say debit card or checkcard because they are not afforded the same protection under the law.

Now a debit/check card is actually a check that has the convience of a card. As such you need to deal with the merchant directly on most disputes. Some banks offer addtl protection but are NOT required to do so. They use several companies to paythru to your account. The back of the card will show these companies. (Honor, Plus) They can also use the Visa/MC as a paythru agent if they use the credit card function. No difference to you as it comes out of your account within 3 days and funds are held immediately, but under the Visa/MC pay agent the bank gets a service fee. In those other networks they may actually charge the back a small fee.

Your bank should NOT be charging you to use debit, if so, then time to move banks. (Consider the bank rated #1 for 5 straight years-- thats not by us, but by surveys and clients) POS -- which stands for Point Of Sale should also not pay/charge a fee. This is where you buy something say grocery at local Publix. You should even be able to get cash back from register with no charge, whereas visiting the ATM in same store can produce several charges. (their bank and yours)

Never, rent or use a debit card for rental cars and equipment. They precharge card for a deductible and unlike a credit card, we must hold those funds immediately for three days in case charge is actually forwarded. No testing or precharges with debits.

As, the worst thing to use your debit card for is gasoline. Why ?? The card is swiped before any charge. As such it is precharged for 1.00. The actual charge is not processed for two or three days. So if balance is low, or you call in and use telephone balance to get Wendys for lunch, you could likely end up with multiple NSF charges. This is income banks do NOT like to give back, as they buffer the balance sheet.

Some banks, like ours, offers www.visaextras.com for using the credit function versus debit. (debit = pin number, credit = signature) Since we make a fee, we give some back in form of gift cards.

[dengood1]

Last year new regulations were enacted to decipher the difference between a credit card and a debit card. Thus newer cards are required to say debit card or checkcard because they are not afforded the same protection under the law.

Now a debit/check card is actually a check that has the convience of a card. As such you need to deal with the merchant directly on most disputes. Some banks offer addtl protection but are NOT required to do so. They use several companies to paythru to your account. The back of the card will show these companies. (Honor, Plus) They can also use the Visa/MC as a paythru agent if they use the credit card function. No difference to you as it comes out of your account within 3 days and funds are held immediately, but under the Visa/MC pay agent the bank gets a service fee. In those other networks they may actually charge the back a small fee.

Your bank should NOT be charging you to use debit, if so, then time to move banks. (Consider the bank rated #1 for 5 straight years-- thats not by us, but by surveys and clients) POS -- which stands for Point Of Sale should also not pay/charge a fee. This is where you buy something say grocery at local Publix. You should even be able to get cash back from register with no charge, whereas visiting the ATM in same store can produce several charges. (their bank and yours)

Never, rent or use a debit card for rental cars and equipment. They precharge card for a deductible and unlike a credit card, we must hold those funds immediately for three days in case charge is actually forwarded. No testing or precharges with debits.

As, the worst thing to use your debit card for is gasoline. Why ?? The card is swiped before any charge. As such it is precharged for 1.00. The actual charge is not processed for two or three days. So if balance is low, or you call in and use telephone balance to get Wendys for lunch, you could likely end up with multiple NSF charges. This is income banks do NOT like to give back, as they buffer the balance sheet.

Some banks, like ours, offers www.visaextras.com (http://www.visaextras.com) for using the credit function versus debit. (debit = pin number, credit = signature) Since we make a fee, we give some back in form of gift cards.

Killr, does your bank have "higher standards";)