A debit card, also known as a check card, cheque card or bank card, is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The card usually consists of the bank's name, a card number, the cardholder's name, and an expiration date, on either the front or the back. Many new cards now have a chip on them, which allows people to use their card by touch (contactless), or by inserting the card and keying in a PIN as with swiping the magnetic stripe. Debit cards are similar to a credit card, but the money for the purchase must be in the cardholder's bank account at the time of the purchase and is immediately transferred directly from that account to the merchant's account to pay for the purchase. Some debit cards carry a stored value with which a payment is made (prepaid cards), but most relay a message to the cardholder's bank to withdraw funds from the cardholder's designated bank account. In some cases, the payment card number is assigned exclusively for use on the Internet, and there is no physical card. This is referred to as a virtual card. In many countries, the use of debit cards has become so widespread that they have overtaken checks in volume or have entirely replaced them; in some instances, debit cards have also largely replaced cash transactions. The development of debit cards, unlike credit cards and charge cards, has generally been country-specific, resulting in a number of different systems around the world that are often incompatible. Since the mid-2000s, a number of initiatives have allowed debit cards issued in one country to be used in other countries and allowed their use for internet and phone purchases. Debit cards usually also allow an instant withdrawal of cash, acting as an ATM card for this purpose. Merchants may also offer cashback facilities to customers so that they can withdraw cash along with their purchase. There are usually daily limits on the amount of cash that can be withdrawn. Most debit cards are plastic, but there are cards made of metal and, rarely, wood.
Types of debit card systems
There are currently three ways that debit card transactions are processed: EFTPOS (also known as online debit or PIN debit), offline debit (also known as signature debit), and the Electronic Purse Card System. One physical card can include the functions of all three types, so it can be used in a number of different circumstances. The five major debit card networks are UnionPay, American Express, Discover, Mastercard, and Visa. Other card networks are STAR, JCB, Pulse, etc. There are many types of debit cards, each accepted only within a particular country or region; for example, Switch (since merged with Maestro) and Solo in the United Kingdom; Interac in Canada; Carte Bleue in France; EC electronic cash (formerly Eurocheque) in Germany; Bancomat/PagoBancomat in Italy; UnionPay in China; RuPay in India; and EFTPOS cards in Australia and New Zealand. The need for cross-border compatibility and the advent of the euro recently led to many of these card networks (such as Switzerland's "EC direkt", Austria's "Bankomatkasse", and Switch in the United Kingdom) being re-branded with the internationally recognized Maestro logo, which is part of the Mastercard brand. Some debit cards are dual-branded with the logo of the (former) national card as well as Maestro (for example, EC cards in Germany, Switch and Solo in the UK, Pinpas cards in the Netherlands, Bancontact cards in Belgium, etc.). The use of a debit card system allows operators to package their products more effectively while monitoring customer spending.
Online debit system
Online debit cards require electronic authorization of every transaction, and the debits are reflected in the user's account immediately. The transaction may be additionally secured with the personal identification number (PIN) authentication system; some online cards require such authentication for every transaction, essentially becoming enhanced automatic teller machine (ATM) cards. One difficulty with using online debit cards is the necessity of an electronic authorization device at the point of sale (POS) and sometimes also a separate PINpad to enter the PIN, although this is becoming commonplace for all card transactions in many countries. Overall, the online debit card is generally viewed as superior to the offline debit card because of its more secure authentication system and live status, which alleviates problems with processing lag on transactions that may only issue online debit cards. Some online debit systems are using the normal authentication processes of Internet banking to provide real-time online debit transactions.
Offline debit system Offline debit cards have the logos of major debit cards (for example, Visa or Mastercard). These cards connect straight to a person's bank account, but there is a delay before the money is taken out.
Electronic purse card system Smart-card-based electronic purse systems (in which value is stored on the card chip, not in an externally recorded account, so that machines accepting the card need no network connectivity) have been in use throughout Europe since the mid-1990s, most notably in Germany (Geldkarte), Austria (Quick Wertkarte), the Netherlands (Chipknip), Belgium (Proton), Switzerland (CASH), and France (Moneo, which is usually carried by a debit card). In Austria and Germany, almost all current bank cards now include electronic purses, whereas the electronic purse has been recently phased out in the Netherlands.
Prepaid debit cards
Nomenclature Prepaid debit cards are reloadable and can also be called reloadable or rechargeable debit cards.
Users The primary market for prepaid debit cards has historically been unbanked people; that is, people who do not use banks or credit unions for their financial transactions. In recent years, online payment fraud has surged dramatically. Consumers frequently face account takeovers, phishing attacks, and data breaches at merchants where they use their standard bank or credit cards. Beyond these threats, the European Union has introduced stricter regulations on how and where citizens can spend their money; a move many interpret as an infringement on privacy. To safeguard their real bank and credit card details, people are increasingly turning to disposable debit cards.
Advantages Advantages of prepaid debit cards include being safer than carrying cash, worldwide acceptance, not having to worry about paying a credit card bill or going into debt, the opportunity for anyone over the age of 18 to apply and be accepted without checks on creditworthiness, and the option to deposit paychecks and government benefits directly onto the card for free. A newer advantage is the use of EMV technology and even contactless functionality, which had previously been limited to bank debit cards and credit cards.
Risks If the card provider offers an insecure website for the cardholder to check the balance on the card, this could give an attacker access to the card information. If the user loses the card and has not somehow registered it, they will likely lose the money. If a provider has technical issues, the money might not be accessible when a user needs it. Some companies' payment systems do not appear to accept prepaid debit cards.
Types Prepaid cards vary by the issuer company: key and niche financial players (sometimes collaborations between businesses); purpose of usage (transit card, beauty gift cards, travel card, health savings card, business, insurance, etc.); and regions.
Governments As of 2013, several city governments (including Oakland, California, and Chicago, Illinois) are now offering prepaid debit cards, either as part of a municipal ID card (for people such as undocumented immigrants who are unable to obtain a state driver's license or DMV ID card) in the case of Oakland or in conjunction with a prepaid transit pass (in Chicago). These cards have been heavily criticized for their higher-than-average fees, such as excessive flat fees added onto every purchase made with the card. The U.S. federal government uses prepaid debit cards to make benefit payments to people who do not have bank accounts. In July 2013, the Association of Government Accountants released a report on government use of prepaid cards, concluding that such programs offer a number of advantages to governments and those who receive payments on a prepaid card rather than by check. The prepaid card programs benefit payments largely for the cost savings they offer and provide easier access to cash for recipients, as well as increased security. The report also advises that governments should consider replacing any remaining cheque-based payments with prepaid card programs in order to realize substantial savings for taxpayers as well as benefits for payees.
Impact of government-mandated fee-free bank accounts In January 2016, the UK government introduced a requirement for banks to offer fee-free basic bank accounts for all, which had a significant impact on the prepaid industry, including the departure of a number of firms.
Consumer protection Consumer protections vary depending on the network used. Visa and Mastercard, for instance, prohibit minimum and maximum purchase sizes, surcharges, and arbitrary security procedures on the part of merchants. Merchants are usually charged higher transaction fees for credit transactions since debit network transactions are less likely to be fraudulent. This may lead them to "steer" customers toward debit transactions. Consumers disputing charges may find it easier to do so with a credit card since the money will not immediately leave their control. Fraudulent charges on a debit card can also cause problems with a checking account because the money is withdrawn immediately and may thus result in an overdraft or bounced checks. In some cases, debit card-issuing banks will promptly refund any disputed charges until the matter can be settled, and in some jurisdictions, the consumer's liability for unauthorized charges is the same for both debit and credit cards. In 2010, Bank of America announced that "it was doing away with overdraft fees for debit card purchases." In some countries, such as India and Sweden, consumer protection is the same regardless of the network used. Some banks set minimum and maximum purchase sizes, mostly for online-only cards. However, this has nothing to do with the card networks but rather with the bank's judgment of the person's age and credit records. Any fees that the customers have to pay to the bank are the same regardless of whether the transaction is conducted as a credit or debit transaction, so there is no advantage for the customers to choose one transaction mode over another. Shops may add surcharges to the price of goods or services in accordance with laws allowing them to do so. Banks consider the purchases to have been made at the moment when the card was swiped, regardless of when the purchase settlement was made. Regardless of which transaction type was used, the purchase may result in an overdraft because the money is considered to have left the account at the moment of the card swipe. According to Singapore's local financial and banking laws and regulations, all Singapore-issued credit and debit cards with Visa or Mastercard swipe magnet strips are disabled by default if used outside of Singapore. The whole idea is to prevent fraudulent activities and protect the card holder. If customers want to use card swipe magnet strips internationally, international card usage has to be enabled.
Financial access Debit cards and secured credit cards are popular among college students who have not yet established a credit history. Debit cards may also be used by expatriate workers to send money home to their families holding an affiliated debit card.
Issues with deferred posting of offline debit The consumer perceives a debit transaction as occurring in real time: the money is withdrawn from their account immediately after the authorization request from the merchant. In many countries, this is correct for online debit purchases. However, when a purchase is made using the "credit" (offline debit) option, the transaction merely places an authorization hold on the customer's account; funds are not actually withdrawn until the transaction is reconciled and hard-posted to the customer's account, usually a few days later. This is in contrast to a typical credit card transaction, in which, after a few days delay before the transaction is posted to the account, there is a further period of maybe a month before the consumer makes repayment. Because of this, in the case of an error by the merchant or issuer, a debit transaction may cause more serious problems (for example, overdraft/money not accessible/overdrawn account) than a credit card transaction (for example, credit not accessible due to being over one's credit limit). This is especially true in the United States, where check fraud is a crime in every state but exceeding one's credit limit is not.
Internet purchases
Debit cards may also be used on the Internet, either with or without using a PIN. Internet transactions may be conducted in either online or offline mode. Shops accepting online-only cards are rare in some countries (such as Sweden), while they are common in other countries (such as the Netherlands). For a comparison, PayPal offers the customer to use an online-only Maestro card if the customer enters a Dutch address of residence, but not if the same customer enters a Swedish address of residence. Internet purchases can be authenticated by the consumer entering their PIN if the merchant has enabled a secure online PIN pad, in which case the transaction is conducted in debit mode. Otherwise, transactions may be conducted in either credit or debit mode (which is sometimes, but not always, indicated on the receipt), and this has nothing to do with whether the transaction was conducted in online or offline mode, since both credit and debit transactions may be conducted in both modes.
Debit cards around the world In some countries, banks tend to levy a small fee for each debit card transaction. In other countries (for example, New Zealand and the UK) the merchants bear all the costs and customers are not charged. There are many people who routinely use debit cards for all transactions, no matter how small. Some (small) retailers refuse to accept debit cards for small transactions, where paying the transaction fee would absorb the profit margin on the sale, making the transaction uneconomic for the retailer. Some businesses do not accept card payments at all, even in an era with declining use of cash. This still happens for a variety of reasons, tax evasion by small business included. In 2019, £35,000 million in tax revenue was lost in the United Kingdom due to cash-only payments. Many businesses such as barber shops, fish & chip shops, Chinese takeaways, the black market, and even some building sites are known for cash-in-hand payments in the UK, meaning high amounts of money can be unaccounted for.
Angola
The banks in Angola issue by official regulation only one brand of debit cards: Multicaixa, which is also the brand name of the one and only network of ATMs and POS terminals.
Armenia ArCa (Armenian Card), a national system of debit (ArCa Debit and ArCa Classic) and credit (ArCa Gold, ArCa Business, ArCA Platinum, ArCa Affinity and ArCa Co-branded) cards popular in Armenia. Established in 2000 by 17 largest Armenian banks.
Australia
Debit cards in Australia are called different names depending on the issuing bank: Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Keycard; Westpac Banking Corporation: Handycard; National Australia Bank: FlexiCard; ANZ Bank: Access card; Bendigo Bank: Easy Money card. A payment in Australia using a debit card can be processed by the local proprietary interbank network called EFTPOS, which is very popular and has been operating there since the 1980s, or it could be processed via an international Card scheme network (ie Visa, Mastercard). Debit cards that were solely EFTPOS-enabled can only be used domestically within Australia and would not be accepted internationally due to the absence of other scheme networks. EFTPOS cards can also be used to deposit and withdraw cash over the counter at Australia Post outlets participating in Giro Post and withdrawals without purchase from certain major retailers, just as if the transaction was conducted at a bank branch, even if the bank branch is closed. Electronic transactions in Australia are generally processed via the Telstra Argent and Optus Transact Plus network—which has recently superseded the old Transcend network in the last few years. Most early keycards were only usable for EFTPOS and at ATM or bank branches, whilst the new debit card system works in the same way as a credit card, except it will only use funds in the specified bank account. This means that, among other advantages, the new system is suitable for electronic purchases without a delay of two to four days for bank-to-bank money transfers. Australia operates both electronic credit card transaction authorization and traditional EFTPOS debit card authorization systems, the difference between the two being that EFTPOS transactions are authorized by a personal identification number (PIN) while credit card transactions can additionally be authorized using a contactless payment mechanism (requiring a PIN for purchases over $200). If the user fails to enter the correct pin three times, the consequences range from the card being locked out for a minimum 24-hour period, a phone call or trip to the branch to reactivate with a new PIN, the card being cut up by the merchant, or in the case of an ATM, being kept inside the machine, both of which require a new card to be ordered. Generally credit card transaction costs are borne by the merchant with no fee applied to the end user (although a direct consumer surcharge of 0.5–3% is not uncommon) while EFTPOS transactions cost the consumer an applicable withdrawal fee charged by their bank. The introduction of Visa and Mastercard debit cards along with regulation in the settlement fees charged by the operators of both EFTPOS and credit cards by the Reserve Bank has seen a continuation in the increasing ubiquity of credit card use among Australians and a general decline in the profile of EFTPOS. However, the regulation of settlement fees also removed the ability of banks, who typically provide merchant services to retailers on behalf of Visa or Mastercard, from stopping those retailers charging extra fees to take payment by credit card instead of cash or EFTPOS.
Bahrain In Bahrain debit cards are under Benefit, the interbanking network for Bahrain. Benefit is also accepted in other countries though, mainly GCC, similar to the Saudi Payments Network and the Kuwaiti KNET.
Bangladesh Bangladesh launched its first domestic card scheme, "TakaPay" on 1 November 2023. Until now banks were dependent on international card schemes such as Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay etc. From the launching day 3 banks are issuing "TakaPay" card. The settlements are done through National Payment Switch Bangladesh. Those banks are: Sonali Bank PLC, BRAC Bank PLC and The City Bank Limited. 5 banks (Dutch Bangla Bank Limited, Eastern Bank PLC, Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC, Mutual Trust Bank Limited and United Commercial Bank PLC) have joined the scheme and will start issuing cards soon. Bangladesh Bank is working to bring all Bank, Mobile financial service provider and other financial institutions into the scheme. As of December 2024, the initiative has seen slow uptake as only Tk 189 crore out of 50,289 crore or less than half a percent of card based transaction that month had been conducted through the platform.
Belgium In Belgium, debit cards are widely accepted in most businesses, as well as in most hotels and restaurants. Businesses have to provide at least one electronic option for payment by law. Smaller restaurants or retailers sometimes choose to only accept Payconiq. Payconiq is a system that allows holders of a Belgian bank account to make payments by scanning a QR-code with their smartphone. Wero (payment) is planned to replace Payconiq in the future, and will also be available to non-belgians. Credit cards are less common, but acceptance has grown in recent years. All Belgian banks provide debit cards when you open a bank account. Usually, it is free to use debit cards on national and EU ATMs even if they aren't owned by the issuing bank. Since 2019, a few banks charge a 50ct cost when using ATMs who are not owned by the issuing bank. The debit cards in Belgium are branded with the logo of the national Bancontact system and also with an international debit system. Bancontact cards used to be commonly co-branded with Maestro, but banks have been transitioning to Bancontact cards co-branded with either Debit Mastercard or Visa Debit. Payments within Belgium with Belgian debit cards are usually done with Bancontact, but almost all payment terminals are set up to also accept Mastercard, Visa, Maestro and V-pay if Bancontact is not available. Other international card networks like Discover and American Express have limited acceptance in Belgium. Some banks also offer Visa and Mastercard debit cards without Bancontact functionality, but these are mostly online banks.
Brazil In Brazil debit cards are called cartão de débito (singular) or cartões de débito (plural) and became popular in 2008. In 2013, the 100 millionth Brazilian debit card was issued. Debit cards replaced cheques, common until the 2000s. Today, the majority of the financial transactions (like buying food at a supermarket), are made using debit cards (and this system is quickly replacing cash payments in Brazil). Nowadays, the majority of debit card payments are processed using a card + PIN combination, and almost every card comes with a NFC chip to make transactions. The major debit card flags in Brazil are Visa (with Electron cards), Mastercard (with Maestro cards), and Elo. The tap to pay technology is popular amongst the Brazilian public. Something that appeared recently is a virtual card by some banks (such as Itaú, Bradesco, Mercado Pago and Nubank) on your internet banking platform. They give you a card number, expiration date and the CVV code to be used online. They also have a temporary virtual card number that works just in 48 hours, according to Itaú, you can use it to buy on unknown websites for safety reasons, because in the case of a data leak, the credit card number that was leaked wouldn't work.
Benin
Bulgaria In Bulgaria, debit cards are accepted in almost all stores and shops, as well as in most of the hotels and restaurants in the bigger cities. Smaller restaurants or small shops often accept cash only. All Bulgarian banks can provide debit cards when you open a bank account, for maintenance costs. The most common cards in Bulgaria are contactless (and Chip&PIN or Magnetic stripe and PIN) with the brands of Debit Mastercard and Visa Debit (the most common were Maestro and Visa Electron some years ago). All POS terminals and ATMs accept Visa, Visa Electron, Visa Debit, VPay, Mastercard, Debit Mastercard, Maestro and Bcard. Also some POS terminals and ATMs accept Discover, American Express, Diners Club, JCB and UnionPay. Almost all POS terminals in Bulgaria support contactless payments. Credit cards are also common in Bulgaria. Paying with smartphones/smartwatches at POS terminals is also getting common.
Burkina Faso
Canada
Canada has a nationwide EFTPOS system, called Interac Direct Payment (IDP). Since being introduced in 1994, IDP has become the most popular payment method in the country. Previously, debit cards have been in use for ABM usage since the late 1970s, with credit unions in Saskatchewan and Alberta introducing the first card-based, networked ATMs beginning in June 1977. Debit cards, which could be used anywhere a credit card was accepted, were first introduced in Canada by Saskatchewan Credit Unions in 1982. In the early 1990s, pilot projects were conducted among Canada's six largest banks to gauge security, accuracy and feasibility of the Interac system. Slowly in the later half of the 1990s, it was estimated that approximately 50% of retailers offered Interac as a source of payment. Retailers, many small transaction retailers like coffee shops, resisted offering IDP to promote faster service. In 2009, 99% of retailers offer IDP as an alternative payment form. In Canada, the debit card is sometimes referred to as a "bank card". It is a client card issued by a bank that provides access to funds and other bank account transactions, such as transferring funds, checking balances, paying bills, etc., as well as point of purchase transactions connected on the Interac network. Since its national launch in 1994, Interac Direct Payment has become so widespread that, as of 2001, more transactions in Canada were completed using debit cards than cash. This popularity may be partially attributable to two main factors: the convenience of not having to carry cash, and the availability of automated bank machines (ABMs) and direct payment merchants on the network. Debit cards may be considered similar to stored-value cards in that they represent a finite amount of money owed by the card issuer to the holder. They are different in that stored-value cards are generally anonymous and are only usable at the issuer, while debit cards are generally associated with an individual's bank account and can be used anywhere on the Interac network. In Canada, the bank cards can be used at POS and ATMs. Interac Online has also been introduced in recent years allowing clients of most major Canadian banks to use their debit cards for online payment with certain merchants as well. Certain financial institutions also allow their clients to use their debit cards in the United States on the NYCE network. Several Canadian financial institutions that primarily offer VISA credit cards, including CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank, and TD, also issue a Visa Debit card in addition to their Interac debit card, either through dual-network co-branded cards (CIBC, Scotia, and TD), or as a "virtual" card used alongside the customer's existing Interac debit card (RBC). This allows for customer to use Interlink for online, over-the-phone, and international transactions and Plus for international ATMs, since Interac isn't well supported in these situations.
Consumer protection in Canada Consumers in Canada are protected under a voluntary code entered into by all providers of debit card services, The Canadian Code of Practice for Consumer Debit Card Services (sometimes called the "Debit Card Code"). Adherence to the Code is overseen by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), which investigates consumer complaints. According to the FCAC website, revisions to the code that came into effect in 2005 put the onus on the financial institution to prove that a consumer was responsible for a disputed transaction, and also place a limit on the number of days that an account can be frozen during the financial institution's investigation of a transaction.
Chile Chile has an EFTPOS system called Redcompra (Purchase Network) which is currently used in at least 23,000 establishments throughout the country. Goods may be purchased using this system at most supermarkets, retail stores, pubs and restaurants in major urban centers. Chilean banks issue Maestro, Visa Electron and Visa Debit cards.
Colombia Colombia has a system called Redeban-Multicolor and Credibanco Visa which are currently used in at least 23,000 establishments throughout the country. Goods may be purchased using this system at most supermarkets, retail stores, pubs and restaurants in major urban centers. Colombian debit cards are Maestro (pin), Visa Electron (pin), Visa Debit (as credit) and Mastercard-Debit (as credit).
Côte d'Ivoire
Denmark The Danish debit card Dankort is ubiquitous in Denmark. It was introduced on 1 September 1983, and despite the initial transactions being paper-based, the Dankort quickly won widespread acceptance. By 1985 the first EFTPOS terminals were introduced, and 1985 was also the year when the number of Dankort transactions first exceeded 1 million. Today Dankort is primarily issued as a Multicard combining the national Dankort with the more internationally recognized Visa (denoted simply as a "Visa/Dankort" card). In September 2008, 4 million cards had been issued, of which three million cards were Visa/Dankort cards. It is also possible to get a Visa Electron debit card and Mastercard.
In 2007, PBS (now called Nets), the Danish operator of the Dankort system, processed a total of 737 million Dankort transactions. Of these, 4.5 million were processed on just a single day, 21 December. This remains the current record. At the end of 2007, there were 3.9 million Dankort cards in existence. As of 2012, more than 80,000 Danish shops had a Dankort terminal, and another 11,000 internet shops also accepted the Dankort.
Finland Most daily customer transactions are carried out with debit cards or online giro/electronic bill payment, although credit cards and cash are accepted. Checks are no longer used. Prior to European standardization, Finland had a national standard (pankkikortti = "bank card"). Physically, a pankkikortti was the same as an international credit card, and the same card imprinters and slips were used for pankkikortti and credit cards, but the cards were not accepted abroad. This has now been replaced by the Visa and Mastercard debit card systems, and Finnish cards can be used elsewhere in the European Union and the world. An electronic purse system, with a chipped card, was introduced, but did not gain much traction. Signing a payment offline entails incurring debt, thus offline payment is not available to minors. However, online transactions are permitted, and since almost all stores have electronic terminals, today also minors can use debit cards. Previously, only cash withdrawal from ATMs was available to minors (automaattikortti (ATM card) or Visa Electron).
France Carte Bancaire (CB), the national payment scheme, in 2008, had 57.5 million cards carrying its logo and 7.76 billion transactions (POS and ATM) were processed through the e-rsb network (135 transactions per card mostly debit or deferred debit). In 2019, Carte Bancaire had 71.1 million cards carrying its logo and 13.76 billion transactions (POS and ATM) were processed through its network. Most CB cards are debit cards, either debit or deferred debit. Less than 10% of CB cards were credit cards. Banks in France usually charge annual fees for debit cards (despite card payments being very cost efficient for the banks), yet they do not charge personal customers for chequebooks or processing checks (despite cheques being very costly for the banks). This imbalance dates from the unilateral introduction in France of Chip and PIN debit cards in the early 1990s, when the cost of this technology was much higher than it is now. Credit cards of the type found in the United Kingdom and United States are unusual in France and the closest equivalent is the deferred debit card, which operates like a normal debit card, except that all purchase transactions are postponed until the end of the month, thereby giving the customer between 1 and 31 days of "interest-free" credit. Banks can charge more for a deferred debit card. Most France debit cards are branded with the CB logo, which assures acceptance throughout France. Most banks now issue Visa or Mastercard co-branded cards, so that the card is accepted on both the CB and the Visa or Mastercard networks. In France payment cards are commonly called Carte Bleue ("blue card") regardless of their actual brand. Carte Bleue was a card brand acquired in 2010 by Visa which is not used anymore. Until its purchase the main characteristic of Carte Bleue was to benefit from its alliance with Visa which allowed the use of the cards on both networks. Many smaller merchants in France refuse to accept debit cards for transactions under a certain amount because of the minimum fee charged by merchants' banks per transaction. But more and more merchants accept debit cards for small amounts, due to the increased use of debit cards. Merchants in France do not differentiate between debit and credit cards, and so both have equal acceptance. It is legal in France to set a minimum amount to transactions, but the merchants must display it clearly. In January 2016, 57.2% of all the debit cards in France also had a contactless payment chip. The maximum amount per transaction was originally set to €20 and the maximum amount of all contactless payments per day is between €50-100 depending on the bank. The per-transaction limit increased to €30 in October 2017. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the per-transaction limit increased to €50 in May 2020 to comply with demands from the French government and the European Banking Authority.
Liability and e-cards According to French law, banks are liable for any transaction made with a copy of the original card and for any transaction made without a card (on the phone or on the Internet), so banks have to pay back any fraudulent transaction to the card holder if the previous criteria are met. Fighting card fraud is therefore more interesting for banks. As a consequence, French banks websites usually propose an "e-card" service ("electronic (bank) card"), where a new virtual card is created and linked to a physical card. Such virtual card can be used only once and for the maximum amount given by the card holder. If the virtual card number is intercepted or used to try to get a higher amount than expected, the transaction is blocked.
Germany Germany has a dedicated debit card payment system called girocard which is usually co-branded with V Pay or Maestro depending on the issuing bank. In recent years both Visa Debit and Mastercard Debit cards are increasingly more common as well. Historically, facilities already existed before EFTPOS became popular with the Eurocheque card, an authorization system initially developed for paper checks where, in addition to signing the actual check, customers also needed to show the card alongside the check as a security measure. Those cards could also be used at ATMs and for card-based electronic funds transfer with PIN entry. These are now the only functions of such cards: the Eurocheque system (along with the brand) was abandoned in 2002 during the transition from the Deutsche Mark to the euro. As of 2005, most stores and petrol outlets have EFTPOS facilities. Processing fees are paid by the businesses, which leads to some business owners refusing debit card payments for sales totalling less than a certain amount, usually 5 or 10 euro. To avoid the processing fees, many businesses resorted to using direct debit, which is then called electronic direct debit (German: Elektronisches Lastschriftverfahren, abbr. ELV). The point-of-sale terminal reads the bank sort code and account number from the card but instead of handling the transaction through the Girocard network it simply prints a form, which the customer signs to authorise the debit note. However, this method also avoids any verification or payment guarantee provided by the network. Further, customers can return debit notes by notifying their bank without giving a reason. This means that the beneficiary bears the risk of fraud and illiquidity. Some business mitigate the risk by consulting a proprietary blacklist or by switching to Girocard for higher transaction amounts. Around 2000, an Electronic Purse Card was introduced, dubbed Geldkarte ("money card"). It makes use of the smart card chip on the front of the standard issue debit card. This chip can be charged with up to 200 euro, and is advertised as a means of making medium to very small payments, even down to several euros or cent payments. The key factor here is that no processing fees are deducted by banks. It did not gain the popularity its inventors had hoped for. As of 2020, several partners pulled out of accepting the Geldkarte which is no longer issued and set to be retired altogether in the near future.
Guinée Bissau See "UEMOA".
Greece Debit card usage surged in Greece after the introduction of Capital Controls in 2015.
Hong Kong Most bank cards in Hong Kong for saving / current accounts are equipped with EPS and UnionPay, which function as a debit card and can be used at merchants for purchases, where funds are withdrawn from the associated account immediately. EPS is a Hong Kong only system and is widely accepted in merchants and government departments. However, as UnionPay cards are accepted more widely overseas, consumers can use the UnionPay functionality of the bank card to make purchases directly from the bank account. Visa debit cards are uncommon in Hong Kong. The British banking firm HSBC's subsidiary Hang Seng Bank's Enjoy card and American firm Citibank's ATM Visa are two of the Visa debit cards available in Hong Kong. Debit cards usage in Hong Kong is relatively low, as the credit card penetration rate is high in Hong Kong. In Q1 2017, there are near 20 million credit cards in circulation, about 3 times the adult population. There are 145,800 thousand transaction made by credit cards but only 34,001 thousand transactions made by debit cards.
Hungary In Hungary debit cards are far more common and popular than credit cards. In the late 90s and early 2000s many Hungarians even referred to their embossed debit cards ("dombornyomott betéti kártya") mistakenly using the word for credit card ("hitelkártya"). The most commonly used phrase today, however, is simply bank card ("bankkártya") or card ("kártya").
India After the demonetization by current government in the December 2016, there has been a surge in cashless transactions, so nowadays you could find card acceptance in most places. The debit card was mostly used for ATM transactions. RBI has announced that fees are not justified so transactions have no processing fees. Almost half of Indian debit and credit card users use Rupay card. Some Indian banks issue Visa debit cards, though some banks (like SBI and Citibank India) also issue Maestro cards. The debit card transactions are routed through Rupay (mostly), Visa or Mastercard networks in India and overseas rather than directly via the issuing bank. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) launched a new card processing platform called RuPay, similar to Singapore's NETS and Mainland China's UnionPay, as an alternative to Visa and Mastercard, it is widely accepted, but due to the popularisation of Unified Payments Interface (UPI), most people connect their bank accounts directly to a UPI provider to access mobile payments, cutting out the need for a debit card. As the COVID cases in India are surging up, the banking institution has shifted its focus to contactless payment options such as contactless debit card, contactless credit card and contactless prepaid card. The payment methods are changing drastically in India because of social distancing norms and lockdown; people are using more of the digital transactions rather than cash.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, most banks issued debit card with support for international schemes such as Visa Debit (previously also Visa Electron before its discontinuation), Debit Mastercard (including Maestro), and MEPS. National debit card scheme in Indonesia is Gerbang Pembayaran Nasional (GPN; National Payment Gateway) which incorporating existing national bank schemes such as Debit BCA (and its Prima interbank network's counterpart, Prima Debit) and Mandiri Debit. It is mandatory for customers to have at least one GPN card for domestic offli