> I disagree that a debit card doesn't involve financial intermediation. The bank is still the intermediary and holds the money But there's still only one tran

> I disagree that a debit card doesn't involve financial intermediation. The bank is still the intermediary and holds the money But there's still only one transaction involved: the bank pays the merchant directly from your bank account. With a credit card, there are two transactions: the credit card company pays the merchant and you pay the credit card company in a separate transaction (and of course you pay once for multiple purchases made with the card). That's the intermediation that is not present with a debit card.