A debit card can simply be described as a form of plastic money linked to a bank account, which is as good as having cash. A debit card can be used in an ATM to withdraw money or paying up in a merchant establishment. Here are important tips on Debit cards and some sound financial advice to help you when using the card.
Unlike when using cash, a debit card allows you to track payments made through it. This will help keep track of all personal finances as you may not remember how you used that $20 last weekend if you use cash but with a debit card, you will have an entry with the bank if you spent the money using a debit card.
A debit card can be a good tool to a parent for a kid who is going away from home to college and who will start leading a separate life. For one, it will give the parent the peace of mind of knowing their kid will get access to cash anytime they need. Secondly, they will have a track of how the money is being used.
If the debit card is stolen, it can be easier for the thief to use it compared to when a credit card is stolen. This is because you can block the credit card and cancel payments in the event it is stolen but once the debit card is used, the money is withdrawn immediately from the account and cannot be retraced. It is no wonder it is advisable to report to your bank immediately you lose your card.
Never give your personal information about a credit card or debit card on phone or over the internet. With Trojans, viruses and phishing attacks becoming more sophisticated, you can never be extremely careful while giving your financial information online. If you must make a purchase, do it on a secured site and on a select trusted websites.
A point that we all know but rarely do it is to ensure you change your PIN on a frequent basis. If you use your ATM card quite often, you might want to change the PIN quite often too as chances of leaking the PIN and other personal financial information could be very high.
Another important thing to remember is that using a debit card is free of charge, but when used on an ATM of a different bank from the issuing bank, you may incur very high costs. This is because banks charge high fees as they know you will be using that ATM because of lack of a better option. As such, you should only use the ATM on a different machine only when you have no other option and you need the cash desperately.
You have to handle the PIN number and such personal details carefully. Many people have the habit of storing their pins in the mobile phone i.e. somewhere easily accessible. While it is good to store it somewhere you can retrieve easily later on, don’t make it too obvious for people. Rather than store the PIN as only the 4-5 digits, why not make it look like a mobile phone number but the last digits the PIN number?
