I know this might just reflect financial culture differences across countries, but let’s give it a try
Edit: as a clarification, I meant credit card compared to debit, not to cash
I know this might just reflect financial culture differences across countries, but let’s give it a try
Edit: as a clarification, I meant credit card compared to debit, not to cash
A debit card is not recommended for day to day. If it gets picked up by a skimmer or otherwise used in a fraudulent manner, your bank account gets debited until the investigation is done.
This can take months and can involve large sums of money.
With a credit card, no money leaves your bank account during the investigation.
In Europe there is a Card Stop number you can use to block your card as soon as you noticed it’s stolen.
From the rest of the thread, it seems that US laws protect credit cards better than debit.
That’s propaganda from the credit card companies.
I’ve my debit card stolen before I got my first credit card. I went to the bank to report it and had the money back almost immediately.
I also have a debit card with 2 different banks. My primary bank that pays off my credit card, mortgage, and all that stuff. Then a second card with a different bank, which is the one I use for day to day purchases. I figure there is a higher chance of issues with the card I use everyday and don’t like to have to re-set-up my whole life if a number changes. I move $1,000 at a time over there, use it until it starts to hit my low bar threshold, then move another $1,000. If it gets stolen and I can’t use it for a month, or were to get cleaned out with no chance of resolution (not likely), I’d be fine.
So far (knock on wood), I’ve had 0 issues with my current debit card getting fraudulent charges on it. In contrast, I was having to get a new credit card every 6 months or so. It was a heavy metal card that stood out. I’m not sure if that led to more waiters trying to skim it or what, but it happened all the fucking time. It was super annoying and disruptive.
I also find, psychologically, the debit card works better for me. When I spend money I see my balance go down, so I know I spent money. On credit cards when you spend money, it doesn’t show a negative backing, the numbers go up. I don’t like that. The whole industry is manipulative. From the rewards, that they know make people spend more, to non-stop “deals”, and predatory minimum payments and interest rates, the whole industry is dog shit.
I’m glad that your one single experience trumps the experience of hundreds of thousands of other people who’ve gotten in a jam with a debit card. Good for you.
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I didn’t miss that part. I was responding to your main point about “propaganda from the credit card companies”. If it’s not propaganda and you got your money back almost instantly… then why are you still jumping through hoops to protect your money? 🤔
After all the issues I had with my credit card getting stolen, I like to have backups in place for the gaps. The credit card I had would take several days to send a new card, which could be a problem. So I wanted a system where if anything happened to the card, even it just being destroyed, I wouldn’t have to stress about the account or the gap in access.
It just so happened it also addressed your issues, but it wasn’t my primary driver for doing it.