A debit card is a plastic card that resembles credit card. Debit cards are directly linked to a cardholder’s bank account. Whenever a card holder withdraws money from an ATM or uses the debit card for making payments, his/her account balance is automatically reduced.
Here are few of the advantages of debit card:
1. Debit card is much easier to get as compared to credit card.
2. One doesn’t have to carry cash or cheque book or traveler’s cheques and carry only debit card.
3. Debit cards are more willingly accepted than cheque, it happens more so when people are traveling because with debit cards the person who is taking it does not have to worry about bounced cheques and hence it is preferred over cheques.
4. With debit cards one knows that for how much limit one can purchase unlike credit cards where chances of overspending are higher.
However there also few disadvantages of debit card:
1. One needs to have enough money in his or her bank account to cover for the amount of purchase done.
2. One has less protection if the debit card is lost or stolen as compare to credit card.
3. Since money is debited instantly at the time of purchase, one has less protection if something goes wrong with the purchase because bank won’t put money back into account if purchased items are not delivered, or don’t work.