How can I know which one is a good deal?Īs with similar financial products, rewards-linked debit cards are designed to encourage people to use a certain bank and its services. Some debit cards come with "rewards" or other incentives for using them. Be sure to read the disclosures to avoid an unexpected fee. As with other bank products, your financial institution must provide disclosures explaining the possible fees associated with a debit card. Or, there could be a charge if you use your debit card as an ATM card at a machine that is not operated by your financial institution. You may trigger a fee if you overdraw your account using your debit card, just as you would if you "bounced" a check. Examples: Some banks charge a fee if you enter a PIN (Personal Identification Number) to conduct a transaction instead of signing your name. There may be fees for using your debit card. What kinds of costs are associated with debit cards? You can even use your debit card to get cash when you make purchases at a store. It's a good way to pay for purchases without having to pay interest, as you would if using a credit card with an outstanding balance. Using a debit card is also easier and faster than writing a check. Why do people use debit cards?įor many people, it is more convenient to carry a small, plastic card instead of a bulky checkbook or a large amount of cash. Most debit cards also can be used to withdraw cash at ATMs (automated teller machines). If you use a debit card at a retail store, you or the cashier can run your card through a scanner that enables your financial institution to verify electronically that the funds are available and approve the transaction. Why? Because the payment is deducted directly from a checking or savings account. More information can be found in this extremely lengthy discussion - read the Wiki and the last few pages of posts before the thread got closed.Answers to frequently asked questions about debit cards.Ī debit card looks like a credit card but works like an electronic check. There may be other institutions than FirstTech that issue such cards, but FirstTech doesn't require you to be local and it's easy to apply for a card from them online.
#Do credit cards require a pin verification#
I also don't know whether it is true of unattended gas stations in Iceland.Īfter some frustrating experiences having to wait in long lines to buy tickets from an agent at train stations in Europe (while Europeans got their tickets in seconds at the automats), a few years ago I decided I wanted a "true" chip-and-pin card that features PIN as the primary verification method. This was true as of a few years ago I haven't travelled to Europe during Covid so I don't know if it remains true. Realistically, some automats in Europe require that the credit card chip be programmed so that the primary verification method is PIN, so most US-based credit cards get rejected. This means that theoretically any US credit card that has a PIN should be useable in any terminal that requires a PIN. The primary verification method is signature, and a PIN is required for the transaction to go through only if the payment terminal the card is used in demands it. As I understand it, the major banks (Chase, BofA, etc) and most smaller banks issue chip-and-signature cards to which you can add a PIN.
Very few US banks and financial institutions issue "true" chip-and-pin cards.
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