The debit card is a financial instrument widely used worldwide.
The debit card is a financial instrument widely used throughout the world. Through this element, a person can withdraw cash from their bank account or make payments in different stores, since the amount is automatically deducted from the account.
It should be noted that a card is a rectangular-shaped object that contains some type of information. A debit , on the other hand, is a debt and, by extension, a certain amount of money that is part of the debt of a bank account.
How a debit card works
To make the operations it allows possible, the debit card houses encoded information about the user on a magnetic stripe or chip . When the card is inserted into a device capable of "reading" it , the machine in question accesses the name of its holder and their bank account number, among other data. Thus, when the person inserts their debit card into an automatic teller machine ( ATM ) and enters their access code, they can make withdrawals and deposits from their bank account, check the balance , etc.
Similarly, when someone hands over their debit card at a store and the seller passes the card through the corresponding reader, a commercial transaction can be closed since the money to be paid is debited from the buyer's account.
The debit card is usually used as a means of payment.
Your advantages
The main advantage of the debit card is that it allows you to make purchases or pay for services without having to carry cash . Since debit cards work with a password or operations are validated by the owner's signature , their operation is secure.
On the other hand, since the debit card only allows purchases for a value equal to or less than the credit that the person has in their bank account, there is no risk of making huge expenses, something that can happen after a robbery or when Let yourself be carried away by the temptation of having a product that is too expensive for our economy.
Debit card vs. credit card
This, which can be seen as a benefit , is also an important limitation, especially if we compare the debit card with the credit card: the latter allows us to buy products or pay for services for amounts much larger than those available in our bank account, with the possibility of paying them in installments.
In this way, a client with a stable job can embark on the acquisition of a large appliance, a set of furniture or even his favorite car (always depending on the limit imposed by the issuing entity); With a debit card, you could only do it if you had all the money together .
Just as in the previous case, the ease with which a credit card allows us to buy what we want can also turn against us, since many times we are trapped in financing for more than a year and without the money to make against installments, something that can never happen to us with a debit card.
Another difference between the two, and perhaps the first one we notice when we go to a bank to request them, is that the debit card usually carries fewer requirements , especially regarding employment status. As expected, a financial institution cannot grant the aforementioned comforts of a credit card to an individual without a job or with very unstable income.
In short, the debit card may seem like the easy option compared to the credit card, the one that offers us the least benefits, but it can also be seen as the best companion for compulsive buyers and a good tool to measure our expenses , always with the convenience of not being forced to carry cash.