4 ms·

IIRC the institutions distributing debit cards (banks, credit unions, whatever the heck PayPal is, etc) will often 'voluntarily' give you effectively the same p

IIRC the institutions distributing debit cards (banks, credit unions, whatever the heck PayPal is, etc) will often 'voluntarily' give you effectively the same protections as for credit cards at their discretion because they want you to have and use those cards and the benefit they get through transaction fees, etc. outweighs the cost of the fraud that happens. Details are likely spelled out in the multipage 5-pt text pamphlet that you received with a new debit card at some point.

commoner 6y ago
Yes, I've seen debit cards that have $0 liability guarantees backed by the financial institution. Since this reflects well on the institution, it will typically advertise the guarantee somewhere prominent, such as a list of features. In the US, debit cards command different processing fees for the card issuer depending on how the transaction is processed. Sometimes, when using a debit card in person, the checkout terminal will ask the customer to choose "credit" or "debit" for the transaction. Choosing "credit" instead of "debit" grants the card issuer a much larger processing fee. Some financial institutions only offer certain features (including liability guarantees or rewards) when the debit card is used to make a "credit" transaction. Almost all online debit card transactions are processed as "credit" (which does not require you to enter a PIN). About the status of PayPal: it is licensed as a money transmitter but manages a network of bank subsidiaries and third-party bank accounts to profit from interest rate arbitrage and perform other activities that banks would do. https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2015/08/06/2136828/is-it-a-bank-a-money-transmitter-or-a-silicon-valley-shadow-financier-no-its-just-paypal/ https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2015/08/06/2136828/is-it-a-bank-...

4 ms·

IIRC the institutions distributing debit cards (banks, credit unions, whatever the heck PayPal is, etc) will often 'voluntarily' give you effectively the same p

by fencepost 6y ago

commoner 6y ago
Yes, I've seen debit cards that have $0 liability guarantees backed by the financial institution. Since this reflects well on the institution, it will typically advertise the guarantee somewhere prominent, such as a list of features. In the US, debit cards command different processing fees for the card issuer depending on how the transaction is processed. Sometimes, when using a debit card in person, the checkout terminal will ask the customer to choose "credit" or "debit" for the transaction. Choosing "credit" instead of "debit" grants the card issuer a much larger processing fee. Some financial institutions only offer certain features (including liability guarantees or rewards) when the debit card is used to make a "credit" transaction. Almost all online debit card transactions are processed as "credit" (which does not require you to enter a PIN). About the status of PayPal: it is licensed as a money transmitter but manages a network of bank subsidiaries and third-party bank accounts to profit from interest rate arbitrage and perform other activities that banks would do. https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2015/08/06/2136828/is-it-a-bank-a-money-transmitter-or-a-silicon-valley-shadow-financier-no-its-just-paypal/ https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2015/08/06/2136828/is-it-a-bank-...