Weird banking question

[SydneyK]

Perhaps my age is showing (and I'm really not that old), but I'm exactly the opposite. I destroy my debit cards whenever I receive them. While I can see their convenience, I'm terrified of what would happen should my wallet get stolen. Credit card companies will protect you, and so will your bank (if it's obviously not your signature on the check), but debit cards aren't nearly so safe. At least, that's what I've always thought, anyway.

[summer_gphib]

Actually that's not true anymore. I have 100 percent protection, on my debit/check card if it were to be stolen. I think on my credit card, I'm still responsible for the first $50. I think most check and debit cards offer that protection.

I usually don't write checks, except for my dog walker. She prefers to have checks. Other than that it's bill pay through my bank, or debit card.

[Drolefille]

As long as you don't actively give out your PIN, you should be protected through your bank if you report a card lost within 2 days of realizing it's missing. Even writing your PIN on your card (DON'T DO IT) doesn't count as giving it out to people.

I use checks more often now than I did in school. In school the only checks I wrote were, occasionally, between bank accounts and to the sorority. Now I use them to pay bills, because until recently I haven't been able to get settled enough to use my online bill pay. And I do tend to take advantage of the ability to float checks. Even at Walmart where they run it as an electronic debit, it still takes a day or two to hit your account. I really shouldn't do that.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

Even writing your PIN on your card (DON'T DO IT) doesn't count as giving it out to people.

WTF?? A bank would actually insure someone stupid enough to write their PIN on their card???

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

WTF?? A bank would actually insure someone stupid enough to write their PIN on their card???

Sadly yes. As long as they report it in the time given. It doesn't fall under the narrow guidelines of "giving out" your PIN, probably because you didn't intentionally hand out your card either.

The banking regulations are really specific, and so are the internal policies. Some banks might specifically deny claims with the PIN on the back but if the card is lost, how are you going to prove it? I've had to report mine missing before to a larger bank and they did ask me if I had written the PIN on the back or kept it in the wallet or anything, but I think this was for their own information.

[GeekyPenguin]

I use checks a few times a month - donations at church, items here or there at school, and rent.

[ISUKappa]

The husband rarely uses checks, he always either takes out cash to have on hand or uses the debit as a credit card.

I tend to write more checks as I almost never have cash on hand and it's kind of a PITA to get to a bank-owned ATM (whereas husband has one in his office building). Plus after 10 debit transactions, our CU starts charging $.50 for every non-CU POS use.