What is the difference between a credit card and a debit card?

Question

I want to be able to order goods online, but use an account that only has limited funds. so that if anyone got my card details they could only withdraw whatever was in the account and no more. What kind of a card should I use? Credit or debit?

Answer 1

You can use a secured credit card. It is basically a credit card with cash deposit and you can't go over this deposit.

Answer 2

There is a new type of card wher you top it up with cash. So you put, say £50 on it, via a bank or E-Bank I suppose, and then it can only have that £50 drawn from it.

Answer 3

a credit card uses credit and a debit card uses money from your checking account

Answer 4

almost all card companies protect your cards from fraudulent transactions.

and your always better off using someone elses money, and then repaying it... that way, A youre safe, and B, if it goes pear shaped, you arent left broke...

and most places accept paypal, its safe and secure...

Answer 5

A debit card comes out of your bank account, and a credit card you have to pay off at the end of the month.

Won't make alot of difference to be honest, but you can get problems sorted quicker through your credit card company.

Answer 6

a credit card means you are buying stuff on credit as in using a loan to pay for what you are buying and as such you get charged interest just like  a loan  

a debit card withdraws the amount of money from a bank account as such you are not charged interest and you yourself can control how much is in the bank account

alternatively you could get a prepaid credit card which acts like a debit card as you put the money on the card first (top up) and spend the money you have placed on the card this is probably the best option if your shopping online as most sites use  a credit card as a form of age checking as yo0u have to be over 18 to apply for one

Answer 7

If you get your card from your bank it can probably be used as both credit or debit card.  It is true that Debit cards pull from checking and credit cards basically establish and unsecured loan.  But if you have a checking account say with Fifth Third and you get a card from them that says Mastercard on it or one of the other big names, chances are it can be used as both..  Another great thing to know is that by federal law you are not responsible for fraudulent charges against your account.

Answer 8

There are many thiings you should consider.

If you want to keep limited amount and keep a checkk on your spending use the debit card . The debit cards are issued by banks and money goes immediately from your bank account.

A credit card ,unsecured , (secured credit card works like a debit card just that you can build a credit history by any credit card and not be debit) means a bank like chase or so has given you a limit of $ 5000 which you can spend and then you get a bill and then you pay them.

Now lets say someone misuses your card and its not anyone you know ( id theft ), in case of the debit card you lose all the money that person used ( max is what you have linked to that debit card account).

THE MONEY HAS ALREADY GONE FROM YOUR ACCOUNT.

In a credit card you will recieve a statement every month and then you see that someelse has been using it and you can then dispute the charges.

Most big banks good with that and you do not have to pay anything till you prove it anyways.

NO MONEY HAS LEFT YOU ACCOUNT YET.

Of course you have to prove it to them. Credit card issues get reported to the credit agencies and if the bank does not agree with you and you do not pay them anyways you get reported and your credit history shows that and a collection agency will pursue you, IF you cannot prove it.

But most big banks are good with this i think and they advertise that you do not have to pay for ID theft stuff.

SO go for a Credit card from a reputed bank ( Chase Citi AMEX HSBC etc.)

Regards

Answer 9

Credit cards mean the money isn't yours you are borrowing and paying back to the credit card company with interest.. A debit card is for your bank account, which is actual funds, (earnings) so you pay nothing back and no interest.. Often if people in a shop say credit card they are referring to both!

Answer 10

Just get yourself a debit card. You can only spend the cash u have in your bank account,

Answer 11

Credit you are basically borrowing money from card companies. And then you get a bill at the end of the month and if you pay it off then your all good. If you don't you get charged interest.

A debit card is issued from your bank. The money is taken directly from your account. It has a credit/debit side. Debit is amount of actual cash you can use in one day (most cards have a 500 limit). The credit side has a higher limit of usually 1500 to 2000. Both are taken from your account immediately (few exceptions). The difference is debit side is on the same day where as the credit side will stay in pending for 2 to 3 days. Also if you spend to much and take out to much with a debit card you will be charged fees. The card will not always shut off depending on if you have some sort of overdraft plan.

Answer 12

If you are really worried about online fraud (even though you are more likely to be "done" over the phone or counter!), get a credit card just for internet use with a low credit limit. Some credit cards give cashback on purchases.

See http://www.moneysavingexpert.com.

Answer 13

A debit card is your actual money from your actual bank account.  If the card is stolen and used, its your money that's lost and it may never be restored to you.  Its basically cash.

A credit card is the creditor's money that you promise to pay back.  By law, you can be held responsible only up to $500 of fraudulent charges due to theft, etc...  Often times, if there is a problem with theft or inappropriate charges, the credit card company will not hold you responsible.  Credit cards also give you leverage in fraudulent deals; you can dispute a charge and if the credit card company agrees that you were unreasonably charged, they will refund you the money and pursue the issue on their own.

Credit cards = security from fraud

Debit cards = atm cards; don't use them online.

Answer 14

A debit card allows u to spend only whats in yr acct.

Answer 15

A credit card is a card where you owe the credit company for the sums spent on it. A debit card is where the funds are taken from the account direct.

Answer 16

a credit card is a card given with money already on it which you have to pay back, and a debit card is a card which you have with your bank account and you only spend the money u have in your account.

Answer 17

Credit card has a maximum spending limit payable in the fuutre and the limit is whatever the card company gives you.

Debit card has a maximum spending limit payable at the time of purchase and the limit is whatever is your bank account.