Why I Refuse to Have a Debit Card

Don't have one, won't get one. This was on the website for our credit union.



Dort Federal Credit Union is currently experiencing increased debit card fraud activity in Metro Detroit area Meijer, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Costco, and other chain grocery stores. The stores affected are located in Allen Park, Ann Arbor, Auburn Hills, Canton, Dearborn, Hartland, Rochester Hills, Southfield, Sterling Heights, Westland, and Wixom. To protect our members and our institution from significant fraud exposure, we have issued a temporary block on Dort Federal Debit Cards being used at the stores in the locations mentioned above.

Sounds like the Credit Union is covering their rear. The card holder doesn't lose in my experience, just the issuer. I only use mine for local purchases where I would normally write a check and a credit card for everything else. It's just a convenience factor. Besides I only keep a small amount of money in the account with a debit card.

I see no reason to use a debit card. I can better keep track of things using a credit card, then pay it in full each month. Using the debit card immediately removes money from my checking account and keeping track seems to me more cumbersome.

The only time I use my debit card is to get cash out of the ATM at my bank. Rewards credit card for everything else.

I've used nothing but a debit card for at least the last 15 years. Every once in a while Bank of America will turn it off over a Fraud Alert and I'll have to call the number on the back of the card to let them know that yes it's me rackin' it up 1000 miles from home and they'll turn it back on.

On the credit card side DW has several. Last year we were positioning our finances to apply for a business loan and she went in and paid off the balance on all her cards several months beforehand. This actually lowered our FICO score??? The explanation was that the score dropped because there was no recent revolving debt payment history. Now she'll use these credit cards to make routine purchases and pay the balance so there is a payment history and our score rebound.

We were in Walmart yesterday and their debit system wasn't working. I swiped my card as credit and my bank locked it. Deb swiped her's and they locked it too. I got a call in about 2 minutes and she got one a minute later from the fraud department to make sure it was us trying the cards. We told them yes, verified some info and they said that the cards were now unlocked. I like our bank. This has happened on a few occasions to me that the bank does this. It was a little hassle, but trying to get the money back would be more of a hassle.

Chippendale said:

The only time I use my debit card is to get cash out of the ATM at my bank. Rewards credit card for everything else.

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Same here. We even use one that never sees the light of day for recurring payments/purchases. Nothing like having to get a new card because the previous one was compromised then having to log onto all the different accounts that were paid from that card to update the information.

After going to a Dave Ramsey finance class,(http://www.daveramsey.com/blog/credit-card-qa-with-dave/), we got rid of all credit cards except DW's business credit card.

We use only an ATM card (with Visa logo), or cash. We have it set up with our credit union to notify us via text every time (yes, every time) our ATM card is used. After some months, it seems to be working out very well. Trace

MTPockets said:

I see no reason to use a debit card. I can better keep track of things using a credit card, then pay it in full each month. Using the debit card immediately removes money from my checking account and keeping track seems to me more cumbersome.

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Don

I don't have a debit card and only use a credit card when I'me not there in person to pay cash.

I use Debit here in Canada more than credit. In fact my credit cards have been corrupted (fraud) more than my debit card. What I do not understand is why the U.S. has not gone to the chip vs swipe. Here only chip cards are accepted while in the States you are hard pressed to find a store using it. Really cuts down on fraud.

Consumer Protection Laws are different for Credit Cards and Debit Cards. You have greater exposure using a debit card. Here's a link to a comparison. Some banks may offer comparable protection on debit cards, but they don't have to do so, and policies can change.

Also, business credit cards don't necessarily have the same protections as consumer credit cards.

I use one credit card for face-to-face transactions and a separate card for online and telephone transactions. For the online and phone transactions, I never give out the real card number. Instead I use Bank of America's ShopSafe to generate a restricted virtual card number to give to vendors. The card can have an expiration date from 2 to 12 months. The dollar limit on the card is set by me. Best of all, once it's used by the vendor, it cannot be used with any other merchant code, so even if the vendor data is stolen, the virtual card won't accept charges from anyone else. I can close the card at any time if I don't want the vendor to be able to place additional charges. Dollar limits can also be changed on the fly.

Citi has a similar program called Citi Virtual Cards.

It takes a little extra effort to generate a virtual card number. But you can create several in one session. I created 8 cards for campground reservations that I'm using now and over the next few weeks. Took about 5 minutes.

Over the last couple of years, my face-to-face card has been compromised and replaced several times due to fraud. The online card has never been hit because no one gets that number.

By "chip" cards, are you referring to the RFID cards? Currently, they are always broadcasting their info, so any mutt with a reader can pick it up. And the gubermint wants to put them in passports. Just the thing to be carrying overseas when jihadi wannabees are looking for targets. Future ones may have a press to activate function, but it ain't here yet.


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Chip and Pin credit cards have encrypted information in a microchip in the card. They do reduce fraud but are not foolproof. I don't think reading the cards remotely is one of the vulnerabilities.

I am referring to chip and pin cards, not RFID cards.