Reader Tamara shared her Canadian perspective about debit cards. Instead of credit card companies issuing them, banks do!
All this debit stuff in the US is so foreign to me. I was in Chicago recently and most places we went said “we take debit,” but really that means, “we take credit cards, but it’s okay if they are hooked up to your bank account and are kind of like debit.”
In Canada NO ONE carries cash because we all have actual debit cards that are issued by our banks and the money comes right out of our bank accounts. They are not VISA, or MC debit cards, they are *just* bank debit cards. And there is little to no fee to use them, and if there isn’t money in your account, and you haven’t previously set up an overdraft, your transaction is declined and your purchase doesn’t go through.
Also, debit cards are accepted EVERYWHERE from major retailers to 7-11 to the dollar store.
Who wants to move to Canada with me?
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price. 
Most debit cards in the US are issued by banks/credit unions, they also have the VISA/MasterCard logo. This means that you have the option of using it as a debit or a credit with debit being the default choice.
As the article mentioned, the debit cards are tied to your account balence so no funds no transaction. If you have an over draft account then the transaction will happen (that makes it a credit card so why even use a debit to begin with?)
I don’t understand how people are functioning without the debit card..of course maybe you call it something else. It’s the card I use at the ATM to make deposits or withdrawals, it’s the card I use at gas stations (some take only debit cards or cash) and all my shopping is done with the debit card. Some banks may call them ‘check cards’ because they function much as a check, without the paper and risks involved.
I can track my purchases and such online and when I travel in Europe it’s all I take–no traveller’s checks.
My debit card has a Visa logo so if I use it some places they treat it like a credit card but the money still comes out of my checking account.
It’s also a great spending control: With a credit card, I can spend up to my limit. With a debit, I could spend only what is in the account..not that I would do either…
THIS (the proliferation of the use of debit cards) is why some banks have had debit card fees and why the govt is looking into those fees as being unfair to consumers.
It is possible to get a debit card from your bank here in the U.S. without the credit card logo, but you have to specifically request it. Most banks will automatically give you a debit card with the credit card option, so you can use it as credit (if you do this, then you don’t have to enter your PIN). If you request just the debit card, you will have to enter your PIN every time you make a purchase. My husband and I both have the debit-only option on our cards, so that if they are stolen we don’t have to worry about someone using our debit cards as credit and depleting our bank accounts.
Here in the US debit cards are generally issued by banking institutions, some with a Visa/MasterCard logo. The debit cards with the Visa/MasterCard logo can be used as either a debit card or a credit card.
The problem is that while a debit transaction requires the use of a PIN to complete the transaction, a credit transaction does not.
This is very bad. Credit cards are regulated and have laws protecting you if the card, or its number, is lost or stolen. No such laws exist for debit cards, it is left up to the issuing institution to set such policies. You lose your debit card and it has a Visa/MasterCard logo on it, the person who finds it can clean out your bank account, and the bank does not have to cover it for you.
Whenever my bank gives me a new ATM card with a Visa/MasterCard logo on it, I cut it up and ask for an ATM only card. Some banks/credit unions allow you to specify that ATM/debit cards on your account can only be used as debit cards, so that they require a PIN to use.
Lets all be careful out there!
It is my understanding, from Canadians that winter in the states, that their bank debit cards cannot be used in the states since they are not tied into the Visa/Mastercard system.
The debit cards with the Visa/Mastercard logo we have here in the states can be used anywhere in the world. A lot more convenient I’d say.