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Comment by thrower123 | Hacker News Reader

Debit cards prey on poor people, who have been memed into thinking credit cards are dangerous.

There is no good reason to use debit over credit in the US if you have the option, but I constantly see advice from people who should know better arguing in favor of debit.

If someone steals your credit card and makes fraudulent purchases, your rent and heat and electricity bill checks aren't going to bounce while the bank is resolving the issue.

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Is that the only argument for credit over debit?

Again, I'm speaking from a purely US perspective, but there is no good reason to use a debit card instead of a credit card, for the same purchasing patterns. You have better fraud protections, you don't worry about overdrafts or transaction reordering, you get a month interest-free loan if you pay back your balance every month. You get cash back or reward points or etc. And if some emergency comes up, you have credit you can call on if you need it.

The argument for debit is basically "I cannot control my spending without a hard limit". Everything about debit is the same as credit cards or worse.

I think the argument you mentioned is actually worth it for some people.

Credit card interest rates are really high and people are better off getting charged a one time overdraft fee rather than buying stuff they cant afford and get saddled with high interest credit card debt.

Ha, it's true, the limit enforced by a debit card is handy. I love my wife dearly, but her spending habit is 'if it is in the account, I can spend it.' So after trying various strategies, we just settled on keeping a debit account specifically for routine household purchases, groceries, etc. It is budgeted exactly what we plan for, not a dollar more, and she knows that when it's gone it's gone. That's not strictly true, of course, we replenish if we buy a lot of groceries in a month, but it serves as a useful signal for her that she's spending more than the generous amount we budgeted for this purpose.

I guess everything in the US is controlled by fear. So for them this might be a legit argument. "What happens if someone breaks into your house?". "What happens when somebody robbed you?". "What happens when somebody uses your credit card to do fraudulent transactions?"

Guess what, having a debit card in the Netherlands gives you protection against all of the above. Luckily not many people are ruled by scare tactics over here.

Lost your debit card for some reason? Just a simple click in your online banking app on your phone is enough to block the current one and recieve a new card the day after.

> Lost your debit card for some reason? Just a simple click in your online banking app on your phone is enough to block the current one and recieve a new card the day after.

This is how it works in the US as well. What you haven't addressed is how you get money back in your debit account if someone manages to steal it. For that period of time, you are out the money until the bank resolves it. By definition, this is not true of a credit card.

The contract I have with my bank (Italy) states that in case of dispute they will refund the money immediately (end of the working day).

Then they take some time to review the transaction and then they can take their money back if they think my chargeback request was not legitimate.

That sounds pretty similar to my relationship with my bank. They will refund immediately while they investigate. I doubt it is regulated by the gov't, though, I think it's just because it's a bank that markets themselves as having superior customer service.

> end of the working day

You go to the bar Friday night. Bar tender steals your cards info and starts making fraudulent charges. You wake up Saturday with zero money. End of working day refund means you have no money until end of day Monday.

In the United States, paying with credit cards often rewards you with 1%-5% of the value you spent, among other things. It adds up to a lot over time, so everyone in the US should always being using credit cards whenever possible to secure those rewards.

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