Who has gotten rid of debit cards?

[rk911]

only purchases we make with our debit card are at Costco and for the rent at our storage place. otherwise we use it to retrieve walking around cash from the bank.

 

[2017ish]

My bank refused to give me an ATM only card so they agreed to set my debit charge limit at $1. It only goes in the ATM.

Dunno if we could get an ATM only card at BoA (someone else on thread indicated that they were able to), but we have done the same as you--$1 per day limit on purchases, with $1500 daily limit for ATM. (Extensive work to Hot Tub and Really big trees wind damaged in the part of our property that we treat as our yard recently necessitated a lot of withdrawals for "cash discounts.")

Joining the chorus here, we've never used the card to buy anything.

 

[Sunset]

only purchases we make with our debit card are at Costco and for the rent at our storage place. otherwise we use it to retrieve walking around cash from the bank.

Wouldn't a no fee Costco Visa card be ideal for shopping at Costco.
4% on gas, 3% on restaurants, 2% at Costco, extends warranty by 2 yrs.

 

[rk911]

Wouldn't a no fee Costco Visa card be ideal for shopping at Costco.
4% on gas, 3% on restaurants, 2% at Costco, extends warranty by 2 yrs.

maybe, if we shopped at Costco more frequently but we don’t need another CC. if we’re near Costco and need gas and they’re about the same price as our regular place we’ll stop. beyond that we’re in the store maybe 2-3 times a year usually for specific items my wife likes.

 

[Blue531]

I only used a debit card briefly. Not a fan. Simpler to keep a checkbook without one and with online payments available now, I write very few checks each year. If I need cash, I usually cash a check at my local grocery store. I don't use an ATM. Never have. I do have a Discover card so I can get cash that way, too. I buy all my monthly necessities with a credit card and pay the total monthly balance in full at the end of each month. This, for me, makes budgeting easier too. It's one all-compassing bill that can be checked and it is usually within a certain range. The rewards points are just extra to the convenience of the credit card.

 

[audreyh1]

Dunno if we could get an ATM only card at BoA (someone else on thread indicated that they were able to), but we have done the same as you--$1 per day limit on purchases, with $1500 daily limit for ATM. (Extensive work to Hot Tub and Really big trees wind damaged in the part of our property that we treat as our yard recently necessitated a lot of withdrawals for "cash discounts.")

Joining the chorus here, we've never used the card to buy anything.

I had BofA give me ATM only for a long time on request but I eventually upgraded to a VISA logo debit card for overseas ATM use. But then I never used it because BofA charged a $5 fee plus 3% foreign exchange fee on overseas ATM withdrawals. The $5 fee could be avoided if you found a partner bank, but in practice these were very few and hard to find.

 

[Exchme]

I use my credit cards for everything, though my wife uses a debit card occasionally. I figure that I get cash back on the CC, why use a debit card.

 

[Dtail]

I only use a debit card for ATM withdrawals of cash. I try to use credit cards and maximize the rewards for mostly everything else.

 

[JoeWras]

This thread got me thinking. When was the last time you used a check to pay at a typical store? (Not buying a car or anything.)

For me, it was probably 1986.

The last time I saw someone pull out their checkbook was about 2 years ago.

 

[Dtail]

This thread got me thinking. When was the last time you used a check to pay at a typical store? (Not buying a car or anything.)

For me, it was probably 1986.

The last time I saw someone pull out their checkbook was about 2 years ago.

Actually never, but when I see it happen, it usually will be an unpleasant experience for everyone waiting behind that person.

 

[JoeWras]

Actually never, but when I see it happen, it usually will be an unpleasant experience for everyone waiting behind that person.

Well it was! I would scan the lines and avoid any line that had someone with a checkbook in hand.

Then you'd get burned. There always was the person who would get through their whole transaction, and then after everything was rung up, they'd pull out the checkbook and start to write it -- slowly -- from scratch. Arrrggghhh!

 

[Aerides]

This thread got me thinking. When was the last time you used a check to pay at a typical store? (Not buying a car or anything.)

For me, it was probably 1986.

The last time I saw someone pull out their checkbook was about 2 years ago.

Probably mid-90's - back when a check gave you a two day float and it was two days from payday!

Just yesterday was behind someone paying actual cash. OH the clerk ask for $96. Then she counted what they gave her and um...that's only $90..."oh sorry" - proceeds to dig again for wallet that's now back in purse - then counts out SINGLES slowly to pay in full. Felt like I was in a time warp.

 

[folivier]

My wife wouldn't be without her checkbook.
But the only debit card I have and occasionally use (mostly online buys) is for my paypal account. I'll let money from a hobby job build up then buy toys with it.

 

[scrabbler1]

Probably mid-90's - back when a check gave you a two day float and it was two days from payday!

Just yesterday was behind someone paying actual cash. OH the clerk ask for $96. Then she counted what they gave her and um...that's only $90..."oh sorry" - proceeds to dig again for wallet that's now back in purse - then counts out SINGLES slowly to pay in full. Felt like I was in a time warp.

Here in New York, most supermarkets stopped bagging your items once a state law banning single-use bags became fully effective earlier this year. So, a few times, I have had a double-whammy of delays - the customer ahead of me takes her time getting cash out (or a check) for a large purchase, then I have to wait for her to bag all her groceries, each of which seems to take forever.

The last time I wrote a check at the store had to be early 1990s, before the card payment machines got installed there. My earliest checkbook register spreadsheet I have goes back to 1995-96, and I found a few debit card uses at the store in those years.

 

[Nemo2]

So can I now presume that arriving at the store with a goat and a couple chickens to trade for merchandise is now considered déclassé?

 

[Amethyst]

It used to be that women were stuck using checks in line because they didn't make enough money to get a credit card. I've read that in the 1970's, some credit card companies wouldn't give a card to single or divorced women at all.

Got my first credit card (had an annual fee) at age 24, when my income hit their floor of $15K. Was never so glad to be free of paying at the counter by check!

But it was some time in the 90's that I went to a beauty-supply place, where the customers were all women, and I was the only one in the very long line who pulled out a credit card instead of a checkbook. Grocery stores, too, were places where checks were used.

I wonder if most debit card users nowadays are still women?

Actually never, but when I see it happen, it usually will be an unpleasant experience for everyone waiting behind that person.

 

[Gumby]

This is my unsolicited advice to anyone of any gender who shops where there are lines to checkout. Spend at least a second while you're standing in line to think about the fact that you will need to pay when you get to the front of that line, and have your method of payment ready. The time to search through your pockets, purse, tote bag, or backpack to find your cash, checkbook or charge card is not after your items have been rung up.

Around here, people will just fume silently, but when I was in NYC, if you didn't have your money ready, the other people behind you in line would let you know about their displeasure. Loudly and profanely in some cases.

 

[sengsational]

My bank refused to give me an ATM only card so they agreed to set my debit charge limit at $1. It only goes in the ATM.

I didn't know that was an option, thanks for that idea.

I bank at Wells Fargo and they use their issued debit cards and pin as the preferred identification method for in-person visits.

Same at BofA, but I rarely walk in. I have the paper card they gave me when I opened the account, all munged up and says "NationsBank", hehehe!

So can I now presume that arriving at the store with a goat and a couple chickens to trade for merchandise is now considered déclassé?

Now that puts things into perspective!

 

[OldShooter]

I dunno. I am still not at all worried about carrying or using my Schwab debit card, which has fraud indemnification on all my Schwab accounts. For grins, I just ran a Google search for "debit card fraud" and five pages of hits produced no evidence, zero, that debit card fraud is an issue. I got page after page of the usual simpleminded "be careful" advice from banks and credit unions, a couple of fraud anecdotes including one in England, and a smattering of pages by people whose income derives from stoking fears about debit cards. One link was to a story about a software glitch at Santander bank that allowed holders of a specific kind of debit card to commit fraud but all of that just cost the bank. No ordinary customers were harmed.

So, absent evidence of any kind of widespread problem, I will continue to believe that debit card paranoia is due to an OWT and not to any statistically significant risk.

Re checks, interesting thoughts. The only place I write checks these days is to my sole-proprietor wine shop. Dave appreciates avoiding the charge card fees and for me writing the checks is easy enough. So, with small merchants especially and where you regularly shop, using a check is probably going to be appreciated. CC fees can easily be 10% of the store's gross margin. (3% fee, 30% gross margin) That's a big hit for a small business.

 

[Amethyst]

We have had a lot of work done on our house. Virtually every contractor insists on a check; otherwise, they'll charge 3% extra (whereas the CC only rebates 2%).

So we have written more checks in the past 2 years than in, probably, the previous 10.

Property tax is also paid by check; there's a pretty hefty convenience fee otherwise.

I usually pay the electric bill by CC, since the $3.25 fee is usually outweighed by the 2% CC rebate.

Re checks, interesting thoughts. The only place I write checks these days is to my sole-proprietor wine shop. Dave appreciates avoiding the charge card fees and for me writing the checks is easy enough. So, with small merchants especially and where you regularly shop, using a check is probably going to be appreciated. CC fees can easily be 10% of the store's gross margin. (3% fee, 30% gross margin) That's a big hit for a small business.

 

[retired1]

I have never used my debit card for purchases of any kind. Security and transaction protection being the prime reasons. I have always paid off CC's monthly.

+1

 

[harllee]

I don't have any debit cards....I don't think they are safe. I have an ATM only card for my checking account. I declined the debit card for my HSA. On the other hand I use my credit card that gives me cash back for almost everything and pay if off every month.

 

[Alan]

My debit card never leaves the house except when I need to get cash.

 

[Navigator]

We occasionally use an ATM card that is also a debit card when we go overseas. They usually expire from non-use between trips. Other than getting cash overseas, we find the rewards make credit cards a much better choice. Occasionally we will write a check to a place that is cash only, but seldom use cash anymore.

 

[Texas Proud]

I am not going to read all that is posted... just respond...


I HATE debit cards... I refuse to get one... I insist that they give me a regular ATM card... my decision is based on working at a bank for over 20 years... I even sent a nasty note to the EVP of the retail bank when they sent me a debit card without me asking!!!



Why? You have zero protection... my mom got scammed and used a debit card (did not know she had one) and I was NOT able to get the money back... she had signed up for a monthly service and they kept trying to get money from her account even when I called to cancel the service... I was able to stop them by cancelling the card... with a CC we would not have had to pay anything...