this post was submitted on 27 Jul 2025
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Honestly, what's the point of a credit card? Why don't people mostly use debit cards? It gets just directly wire transferred from your account. No sort of junk fees or monthly subscription needed. Genuine Question.
If someone steals your debit card, they can directly take money out of your account. With credit cards, there's a buffer between the product and the bank account, and it makes it easier to stop fraud
I've had my debit card information stolen before. My bank knew before I did, cancelled the fraudulent charges, and refunded my money without any action on my part. Doesn't seem like a credit card would have been any advantage in my [admittedly anecdotal] case.
Banks can, but they're not legally obligated to. With a credit card they are. (US)
In the US if someone takes your debit card and enters the correct PIN, the transactions are permanent, and the bank has no obligation to give your money back (and if they choose to do so it would be out of their own pocket).
This problem could be solved.
It's not fraud, it's interest.
If you use a debit card and can't cover a transaction, it just doesn't go through. If you have a credit card then the bank pays and now you owe them, and they'll charge you extra for that privilege.
You could just pay off your balance by the due date and you won't be charged any interest.
Well not to stop it before it happens, surely, but an easier time reclaiming your money due to the buffer.
But is it really worth all of the junk that you have to accept? I like the credit scoring, the monthly subscription, and, if you miss the date for paying back, the absurdly high fees. Well, yes, with the debit card you have, technically speaking, the risk of someone being able to make about 100€ worth of RFID payments, and then the code is needed again for the next 100€ RFID payments. For everything else that doesn't involve RFID, the code is needed always.
The US implementation of chip and PIN left off the PIN. The reason given was "no one wants to put in a PIN every time" so for the vast majority of transactions you just hold up your card to the sensor or put it in the chip reader. PIN is only required for cash withdrawals in my experience.
Jesus Christ, that is absolutely moronic. No wonder people are so obsessed with losing their card.
What junk? Works same as a debt card but just not directly tied to a checking account, so less a big deal if it is lost or false charges made on it with companies reversing it. Get cashback on purchases, additional warranty on items, and able to do charge backs if company isn't giving you a refund for whatever reason.
Most people who run into trouble are because they don't realize credit cards aren't free money so go beyond their budget. If you spend what you can afford and pay back each month question becomes more why should a debit card be used over a credit card?
Debit cards typically have PIN numbers.
I know these can be defeated in various ways, but its not usually as simple as, just steal someone's card.
Also, you can just go to your bank or credit union, call them, report online or w/e: Hey, my card got stolen, these txns are fraud.
Might not be as streamlined or as fast as a payment challenge with a credit card, but its not that much worse.
Tons of cards have zero fees. Some offer rewards and benefits at no real cost. I have for nearly a decade used a card with 1% back on purchases and 1% back on payments. Running all my usual spending through that and then just paying it off has net me a lot of money in that time that I just use for statement credit.
It's easy to dispute charges should I ever need to. Rare since I'm cautious anyways, but the extra layer before my actual bank account is nice.
It has also built up a hell of a credit rating for me as well.
You can get 2% cards with no fees now as well. 2% on everything.
Paid cards go up to 6%, or possibly higher.
You can game this system if you don't have debt on them.
That's what I do. 2% card with zero fees and no debt on it. Run every possible expense through it monthly and just pay it off.
I am usually cautious with claims of free money. There is no free money for working class people. So, who's paying it in that case and for what reason? I reckon the company who is running the platform does it, such that they can get market share to coerce sellers into using their product.
Or am I seeing this wrong?
I will agree that a credit card only really made any sense as I began to finally gain more financial independence. Before then, it was pointless.
The claim is that they are giving you a portion of the merchant fee for utilizing said credit cards.
I'm sure they also make money by selling all your info.
Fiscally responsible people do it because of the cash back/perks and 0% interest.
Fiscally irresponsible people do it because 'free money' (ignoring the 28% annual interest).
Credit cards also offer better consumer protections than debit cards. Ex: chargebacks.
This is not true for many countries. Debit cards in my country have equal or even better consumer protections than credit cards and are also cheaper.
It's true in the United States. In the US, a debit card transaction is an EFTPOS (electronic funds transfer at point of sale) and once you enter your PIN, there are no take-backs and if you want a refund and the merchant refuses, you have to resort to the legal system for recourse. Credit cards, on the other hand, have consumer protection rules and dispute procedures.
I mean, there are people who just don't have the money for a needed "purchase" (like medical care, transportation, or food), and hope they'll be able to get a better job or make more money in the future to pay it off later. Been there.
My debit card is a master card.
They still need to go through a payment processor, using a debit instead of credit card isn't really the solution to the current problems.
I live off a credit card, my money sits inside an offset account against my home loan the interest charged on that is calculated every 30 days at the end of the month so the more cash I have in there the less interest I pay on my mortgage.
The credit card is free with no fees or interest provided I pay it off on time with that date being every 30 days from the 15th of the month.
Thus at the end of the month when interest is calculated on my home loan I have more cash in my account then I would if I had of spent 2k that month on bills etc.
The other benefit is I earn points that the bank will exchange for cash with me so it's kinda like free money.
For context I'm Australian with an Australian bank.
This set up is great if you're disciplined for anyone due to the points etc however if you screw up spend beyond your means etc you will incur interest and that's not good.
I make sure to never spend more then I actually have and it has worked wonders for me.
In the past 10 years I've probably been made about 7k back in points value.
Cash flights etc all for spending exactly as I do.
I should note the card is provided to me as part of my home loan package hence it has no fees attached as I pay an upfront cost for the "home loan wealth package"
i’ll add an extra to this on the cashback etc
credit card companies charge stores processing fees, and then give consumers cash backs to encourage them to spend using their cards
stores add credit card processing into their cost of doing business… you’re charged that in the cost of things you purchase
if you pay with a credit card, you get some of that back. if you don’t pay with a credit card, you’re still charged the fees - you just don’t get any of the benefits
The latest that drives me mad is the 1.5 surcharge they're putting on pay wave transactions now.
They pushed it free convenient etc etc and now charge extra for it regardless of debit or credit card
whaaaat? where is doing this? i haven’t seen it, and would ABSOLUTELY boycott the shit out of it
Small to medium shops all around my town in Australia.
It's started to make me think about returning to cash, but it's $3.20 to get cash out unless you go to the bank during their office hours
I buy stuff for work with my personal card and I've made probably thousands of dollars from the cash back. Even on my regular cards I get a couple hundred back off of stuff I normally buy.
There's other benefits too like using points to buy plane tickets, fancy lobbies in the airport with free food, etc.
Because I have to. A lot of platforms literally don't support debit cards.
You can get a Visa debit card from your bank; everyone takes Visa.
"Debit" in the United States refers to chip-and-PIN transactions only (though tap-and-PIN is also now a thing). The US debit card networks process only in-person transactions because their fees are limited by law and the risk of fraud is lower for chip-and-PIN compared to the "trust me bro" of online card transactions.
All other transactions processed through the Visa or Mastercard network are treated as credit card transactions for the purposes of processing the transaction on the network, even if the underlying card is a debit card.
I'm EU based. We don't have visa debit cards
The EU has Visa debit cards.
I'm in France. Pretty much everyone has a Visa debit card.
I am in EU, but likely a different country. I dont think we do Visa credit cards here, the only credit card around is Mastercard, all Visas are debit. Weird how that’s different
Because people are reliant on debt because wages haven't kept pace with expected standards of living.
Of for more ago well off people some cards offer perks like cash back or air miles and it's free if you pay it off in full each month.
Also, in my country at least, you get more protection if you have an issue with the goods you've bought. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/section75-protect-your-purchases/
Because many people don’t actually have the money on hand. Some do but me and many others are spending money we don’t have yet. It’s a negative feedback loop of debt because capitalism sucks
You get points. I pay a fee on only one of my cards, the one that gives me 6% back on groceries. I make decent money using that card.
I’ve just got rid of my credit card after 10 years in NA. Yes it can come in handy if you need a couple grand all of a sudden but damn, what a ball and chain, I hated it