Credit Card VS Debit Card

2 days ago i went to this bank to change my damaged ATM card ( not so good to reveal the bank name so i just simply replace the bank name ) , the cat bank atm card . had to wait more than 40 minutes , and im consider to be lucky as they need my MYKAD ( IC ) to be able to read on their reader ,at 1st she tried to read on her card reader but failed , and she try other counter and if still fail , i need to travel back to my original branch ( im in bukit bintang and the branch is in MV ) in order to change the ATM card ... sigh . luckily after few machine , it managed to read it , and then scan my finger print . then , the following is our conversation :

Bank : Jadi nak tukar balik card atm ini ( the normal type atm ) atau nak tukar yang baru ini ( new atm with debit card ) ?
Me : charge sama ke ?
Bank : sama , RM 12 satu tahun
Me: ok la , i pilih debit card
Bank : tapi , u kena berhati hati jangan hilang . nanti orang boleh pakai swipe beli barang !
Me : har ?! bukan kah perlu pin number i sebelum swipe beli ?
Bank : pakai atm kena pin number , kalau beli barang cuma sign .
Me : wahh ... macam tu i ambik balik normal atm baik .

I was like , what the ... as i know normal debit card or visa electron need to key in pin number in the credit card machine before it can complete the transaction but then , this cat bank said it doesn't need any pin , just a sign will do . which means , i get your debit card and your bank got money , then i can buy , i just swipe and i simply sign and the money is on you ! nothing they can do .




That remind me back the pros and cons between the Credit Card and Debit Card .
Since the credit card will be charge RM 50 / RM 25 a year .

Well , some little different between Credit and Debit

Credit Card
Flexible Credit :
PROS
You have extra credit for you to use 1st and pay later
CONS
You might over spend and cause you to be in debt with the bank

Safety :
-Most bank will either need verification on high price purchase or abnormal transaction or will call the card owner on the spot to verify if the transaction is valid
- For fraud card cases , bank will normally refund some or all of the charges that the customer has received for things they did not buy and it normally these refunds will, in some cases, be at the expense of the merchant . that is why some of you will be asked for ID / IC for verification for high price transaction



Debit Card
Limited Credit
PROS
You can only spend what you have in the bank and it make sure you wont over spend
CONS
You might have trouble finding money if you need some big money for emergency or urgent use like going to hospital at night during emegency / accident or ETC as you can read from news .

Safety
- Some country bank will need pin , in malaysia , i know 1 bank , the cat bank don't need and a signature will do it and normally debit card transaction is same is direct transfer your bank credit to the merchant ( shop ) and it normally means end of transaction . unlike credit card where the payment is after the transaction month .
- If you lose your card , the person who use it might drain all your money from you bank account . Meaning even if the bank will return back your money , imagine how long would it takes and how are you going to survive with zero money in your bank and wait for all the process of investigation , processing and stuff to complete ? And what if the bank find an excuses or reason that they can't or wont return back your money ? Plus you might be charge alot more higher penalty or service charge because of this incident comparing to credit card .

This is one of the example charges imposed in US

Federally Imposed Maximum Liability for Unauthorized Card Use (United States)

Reported	Maximum Card Holder Liability
	Credit Card	Debit Card
Before Use	$0	$0
Within 2 business days	$50	$50
After 2 but before 60 business days	$50	$500
After 60 business days	Unlimited	Unlimited

I don't think you wont noticed your debit/credit card problems or fraud after 2 months . If really so , then you deserve to be charge UNLIMITED !

Well , my point is , i felt that the debit card is abit troublesome for me in terms of credit that i can spend comparing to credit card and the CAT BANK DEBIT CARD is surely not SAFE TO USE .Imagine if lost it and you don't even know when and where it happened . :-S

So , no matter which one you choose , handle it nicely and keep it with you all the time :)