Advantages of Debit Cards Over Credit Cards

During the last months of 2010, new banking rules, overdraft regulations, and new credit card fees came into effect and this decreased banks’ fee income by a significant amount. To regain a part of the lost profit, the banks then started to promote prepaid debit cards. They saw how popular these financial tools were becoming and they wanted to jump on the band wagon.

According to an estimate, there were 3.4 million people who were using debit cards at the end of 2009. But the Wall Street Journal maintains that in the coming years, that number is going to see a dramatic rise. And by 2014, no less than 7 million people will wake up to the advantages of debit cards and will be using them in their daily lives.

Associations for prepaid debit cards have long been voicing the numerous advantages these prepaid cards have. These pay-as-you-go cards work just like credit cards in that you can make purchases and ATM withdrawals with them. They’re also easier to obtain since they require no credit check whatsoever; you can even buy a reload card online. But the real reason they’re so popular is that they protect you against yourself.

If you use credit cards, there’s always the chance to overspend which can land the cardholder into potentially huge debt. But using reloadable debit cards prevents overspending in the first place because you can only spend the cash you’ve already loaded onto the card. It’s a much better way to manage personal finances, save money, and control your budget in an effective way.

Once the amount you’ve loaded is spent down, you can reload your card with another amount. It’s simple to do at just about any major retailer. You can also set up automatic deposits so your card can be loaded regularly with no hassle at all.

Isn’t it time you put that big, bad credit card away and switched over to a reloadable prepaid debit card? Take one out for a test spin. You don’t have to sign a long-term contract and you’re free to simply throw away the card when you’ve spent your cash down. Debit cards are good deals.