> it means you don't have to give everyone you buy things from direct access to your bank account, as a debit card does I disagree that this means "giving some

> it means you don't have to give everyone you buy things from direct access to your bank account, as a debit card does I disagree that this means "giving someone else access to all your money". First off, you're authorizing a single transaction, and second, your bank is still the one mediating the transaction - if you experience fraud, what's actually happening is that your bank is the one who got defrauded by someone pretending to be you (by stealing your card/PIN/etc) and fraudulently convinced the bank to give them your money. I disagree that a debit card doesn't involve financial intermediation. The bank is still the intermediary and holds the money, just that the hold duration is seconds instead of a month (well technically settlement or presentment happens a few days after authorization, but that's all transparent to the cardholder). There's no technical difference, the difference is purely regulatory and there's no reason the regulations can't be amended to give debit card holders the same protections as credit card holders. > Ask anyone who has had their debit card info stolen and had funds fraudulently taken direct from their bank account. I don't know about you but all instances of fraud I had on my debit cards have been resolved painlessly. Most fraud gets resolved by card network disputes which don't care about the card type. The only time credit cards get preferential treatment is when card network disputes fail and the law forces lenders (but not debit card issuers) to eat the fraudulent transaction anyway, but those instances are relatively rare.