| What is a debit card? | | | | advice - Don't give out your personal financial |
| A debit card is one form of plastic money that is | | | | information about the debit or credit card over the |
| linked to your bank account and is as good as cash. | | | | phone or on the internet. In one incident an individual |
| You can use it in merchant establishments and pay | | | | who was booking airline tickets was giving out his |
| up or use it in an ATM to withdraw cash. | | | | personal financial information over the phone and |
| What are the ten words on using debit cards and | | | | while the airline company did not cheat him he was |
| personal finance advice? | | | | overheard and since only numbers are required for |
| 1. A debit card is an excellent means to replace your | | | | online banking even without physically having the card |
| cash. It eases you off the burden of carrying cash | | | | the guy who overheard him still misused his card. |
| and at the same time provides you with the | | | | 7. With phishing attacks and viruses and Trojans |
| convenience of cash. | | | | becoming more and more sophisticated one can |
| 2. Unlike cash you can keep track of the payments | | | | never be too careful while giving out their personal |
| made through your debit card. This will help in keeping | | | | finance information over the internet. The key is to |
| track of your personal finances as you may not | | | | make sure that there are a few websites only which |
| remember where you spent that $18 last week if | | | | you use to purchase online and you make yourself |
| they go from cash but you will have an entry in the | | | | familiar with them so that if there is any attempt of |
| bank if you spend it through the debit card. | | | | creating a mirror website and tricking you off your |
| 3. You must handle the PIN number and identification | | | | details you can spot something fishy and report to |
| details carefully. Most people are in the habit of | | | | the authorities immediately. |
| storing their pins in their mobiles. While it is good to | | | | 8. Debit cards act as a good mechanism for parents |
| store the pin in a place that you can later retrieve | | | | whose children are going out to college and are going |
| from easily it should not be too easily viewable to | | | | to live separately. While on one hand it gives the |
| others. What you can do is instead of storing your | | | | parents the comfort to know that their children can |
| PIN as just the four or five digit number you can | | | | get access to cash whenever needed at the other |
| make it look like a phone number with the last digits | | | | hand it also gives them a track of where the money |
| the same as your PIN. | | | | is going and how frequently are the withdrawals |
| 4. Debit cards and personal finance advice are good | | | | being made. |
| instruments for people who are in the habit of | | | | 9. Another key thing to note is that while there is no |
| overspending on their credit cards. You can have the | | | | fee for using debit cards normally if you are using |
| convenience of plastic money and at the same time | | | | debit cards and personal finance advice of one bank |
| cut yourself off that unwanted credit limit by | | | | in the ATM of another bank there may be some fee |
| developing a habit of using your debit instead of your | | | | attached to it. This is generally high as banks figure |
| credit card at all places. | | | | you will only do so when faced with no other option. |
| 5. If your debit card however is stolen it is relatively | | | | So you should indeed do it when having no other |
| easier to be used than a credit card. This is because | | | | option and keep at the back of your mind that its |
| you can block your credit and stop payment in the | | | | always better to not spend another couple of dollars |
| case of a credit card but as soon as the debit card is | | | | when there is an option of saving it. |
| used the money in your account is gone and | | | | 10. And the last one which we all know but no one |
| therefore the first thing that you should do if the | | | | really does is its best to keep changing your |
| debit card is stolen is to call up your bank and inform | | | | identification number frequently as even if it leaks |
| them and stop the card transactions immediately | | | | once the numbers can't be used after a certain time |
| without doing anything else. | | | | period. |
| 6. Here's good debit cards and personal finance | | | | |