Comment by lxgr
4 years ago
> [...] fraud on a debit card hits your account balance immediately, even if you can later argue to have it credited. Fraud on a credit card simply hits the credit card and can't touch your real money.
It can touch your real credit score (if not resolved in your favor), which directly correlates with your ability to continue using credit cards.
And either way, you lose liquidity until the provisional credit (which is very soon in both scenarios, also required by law!), although admittedly money in a checking account is slightly more liquid since you can pay rent and cash-only expenses with it without incurring interest changes.
> I'm always very puzzled as why in the US one would ever use a debit card
Many people don't have credit, don't feel comfortable with the possibility of having to pay absurd interest rates in case they can't make a payment, or a combination thereof.
> It can touch your real credit score (if not resolved in your favor), which directly correlates with your ability to continue using credit cards.
The topic of this thread is real fraud (as opposed to someone claiming fraud on a charge they actually made). So, it will always be resolved in your favor, that's my point here. Regulations on credit cards mean it will always be resolved in your favor (assuming actual fraud). So, no, it won't impact your credit score.
> assuming actual fraud
That's a load-bearing assumption here!
Yes, whenever a credit card fraud investigation will be resolved in your favor, so would it be for a debit card – and the outcome is "no money lost" in both scenarios as well.
But in the odd case a credit card issuer does not side with you, are you absolutely sure that they would just silently drop the pending balance and not report you for a missed payment if you decide to not pay? (Yes, there is recourse against that – but so is there against a Regulation E debit card fraud case, at least as far as I know.)
> Yes, whenever a credit card fraud investigation will be resolved in your favor, so would it be for a debit card – and the outcome is "no money lost" in both scenarios as well.
No, you're assuming the bank is obligated to refund you everything. As I mentioned at the top, this is always the case for credit cards but not necessarily always the case for debit cards.
As this is becoming circular, I don't wish to continue. Enjoy your debit card and I hope you never experience fraud.