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Comment by mrec | Hacker News Reader

> it is still much more of a hassle to manage than credit or debit cards are

I don't really get this. I use credit cards (almost entirely online), but I've never used a debit card. Not out of any deep-seated aversion, I just don't see the point.

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The appeal is largely that credit cards let you spend money you don't have, and debit cards, by definition, don't. For people who have a hard time operating within their budget with credit cards, this is a huge difference.

Worth pointing out that this can be fuzzy, I have a £1600 overdraft facility that I can use with my debit card (I don't use it though).

True enough, but I hate those things. They tend to incur nasty fees when used on top of the overdraft itself, and then there's interest to be paid on the overdraft amount if not paid in full, etc., etc.

If allowed, I will always disable them, and when not allowed, I will change banks to one that will allow it.

I agree with the sentiment, though I'd argue they're getting better. For example the Nationwide FlexDirect current account[0] comes with a £1,200 overdraft limit that gets charged at 50p per day it's used. A vast improvement in my mind, I remember getting charged around £30 for going £2 overdrawn for less than 2 hours!

[0] http://www.nationwide.co.uk/products/current-accounts/our-cu...

Also there's no work I have to do later if I'm keeping my credit cards at zero balance. I don't have to worry about paying another bill.

Well yes, but surely that's something that cash does even better, isn't it? I take a fixed amount of cash out once a week and that's everything I'm going to spend that week. Not only can you not spend money you don't have, you can't accidentally spend more money than you were planning to spend. (I carry a few extra weeks' buffer for emergencies, but could put that in a separate pocket or something if it ever became a temptation; so far it hasn't.)

My tinfoil-hatted side does wonder whether this is half the motivation of these new "convenient" debit mechanisms - like those fake "points" currencies used by various stores and in-app purchase schemes, I'm sure people spend more money when it doesn't feel like spending money.

Agree re credit cards, but I never carry a balance, they're just a payment mechanism.

> Well yes, but surely that's something that cash does even better, isn't it?

[...]

> Agree re credit cards, but I never carry a balance, they're just a payment mechanism.

I think you just answered your own question.

For most people here (Holland), a credit card is not a 'default' (and so many people don't even have one). We still use our debit card all the time because it's so much more convenient as payment method than messing around with cash.

Over the past few years they've been rolling out contactless payment, which is even better. You see the amount of a screen, swipe your card, and only after x transactions or over a certain amount are you asked to use the chip and enter your PIN. I'm pretty sure most of these machines also allow you to use your phone (or watch) to pay for things, but that's not as common yet.

Or another example: one of the big supermarket chains here has been rolling out self-checkout kiosks at many of their stores, making the process even easier: take the stuff you want, scan it, swipe your card, and just walk away!

We (UK) have had self-checkout tills for a few years too, but they still take cash as well as debit card.

Maybe I'm just old, but I don't want payment to be too frictionless. Cash still strikes the right balance for me; convenient enough that I don't get annoyed by it, not so convenient that I lose track of what I'm spending.

Whereas I get annoyed by it and lose track of how much I'm spending when I use it!

The difference is that I generally feel safe carrying a debit card around where I wouldn't with even $100 in cash. In the US, we are just getting chip cards for debit, so even if my wallet is stolen, I can just call the bank and cancel it, but I can't do that with cash.

I'm with you on the credit cards-- for me, they're just a point-generating mechanism-- but it's easy for me, since if I accidentally go over my budget, I have enough savings to easily cover it whenever that happens. For people who live more paycheck-to-paycheck, that can be devastating, and it's sometimes non-trivial to compute your safe-to-spend amount from a current credit card balance, expected expenses, and current bank balance.

I am exactly the opposite. I use a debit card, but I've never used a credit card. Why would I want to borrow money (and risk owing interest), if I already have money readily accessible via my debit card?

- Very good rewards deals (cash back, points, free checked luggage, etc)

- Free perks like rental car insurance and extended warranties

- You never have to worry about your bank account being cleared out

If you pay your bill this all comes for free. It's a pretty amazing deal actually.

In the UK, at least, Credit Cards also have much better protection under the law: http://www.money.co.uk/current-accounts/is-debit-card-protec... - Debit Cards are not _required_ to have any protection.

I don't use a credit card instead of a debit card, I use cash instead of a debit card. I mentioned the credit card just to emphasize that this isn't out of some weird card phobia.

> Why would I want to borrow money (and risk owing interest), if I already have money readily accessible via my debit card?

Because if your credit card is used fraudulently, you tell the credit card company, they disallow the charges, and nothing comes out of your pocket.

If your debit card is used fraudulently, the money comes direct from your bank account, and you get to find out how much work it is to get that money back--and in the meantime, you don't have it.

The biggest reason I can think of is safety. With a good credit card you are not liable for any fraudulent charges, which definitely isn't the case for debit cards.

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-cards/credit-card-vs-...

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