Now we have to deal with the problems I foresaw so clearly.
- Many auto rental companies won't let you use a debit card unless they are given advance notice so they can do a credit check (unnecessary cost). Auto rentals were the back bone of the early adoption of universal credit cards.
- Ordinary credit card shoppers are now endlessly badgered 'is that credit or debit?'. Frankly that is offensive.
- When a debit card is stolen it means several days without money in the checking account and bounced checks. The money gets replaced and the OD charges reversed but it is often a nightmare, especially for low balance customers.
- Anyone who can get a debit card can get a 'limited value' credit card and not have to get a credit check for auto rentals or airline tickets.
The bankers who were pushing for debit cards, when I was a banker,
hated the idea of credit cards because they didn't believe anything but
cash was moral. To them, a debit card was just a plastic check, which
it is. It was almost acceptable to them. Really.
Long after I left banking, the banker morality is finally getting its revenge.