5 Ways a debit card can make your life easier

There were a whopping 944.5 million debit cards in circulation in the country in February 2019, according to figures released by the Reserve Bank of India. There are several reasons for the immense popularity of debit cards, most of which help to bring convenience to our otherwise highly hectic lives. Here are five ways in which this payment so-called plastic money makes our life easier.

#1: Online payments

Debit cards facilitate online payments. You can easily use debit cards online to make bill payments. With this, you are no longer required to stand in long queues for making your monthly electricity or telephone bill payment. You don’t even have to remember the due dates for making these payments. All you have to do is, auto tune the payment date with your debit card and the transfer will be done before the due date. By doing so, debit cards allow you to say goodbye to late fees.

You can also do online shopping using a debit card. You may find zero interest EMI options, which makes it easier to make purchases of more costly items like electronics and consumer durables. You can already begin enjoying the use of these items before making the complete payment for them.

#2: Increased security

Keeping a debit card is much more secure than carrying cash. If you lose your wallet or it gets stolen, all your cash is gone. In case of a debit card, however, no one can make any transaction without knowing your PIN. Also, it cannot be used by an unauthorized person for online shopping, as the OTP is sent to the registered mobile number of the cardholder.

The protection offered by debit cards has been further enhanced with the recent addition of EMV chips in place of magnetic strips. In such cards, a fresh user data is generated each time, reducing the risk of your original data being copied by fraudsters.

#3: Helps keep track of spending

Keeping track of cash transactions can be extremely difficult. With a debit card, you no longer need to maintain a record. The details of all your transactions, such as amount, location, date and merchant name, are sent to you by SMS at no extra fees. Also, you can get a bank statement mentioning your debit card usages at no additional charges. Since you can constantly monitor your expenses and balance, it leads to better budget management.

#4: Instant withdrawal of cash

Withdrawing cash from the bank is tedious. With debit cards,cash can be withdrawn from your nearest ATM. Many debit cards have no charges for a certain number of ATM cash withdrawals every month. Also, you’re not restricted to the working hours of your bank. Cash can be withdrawn any time of day or night and even on public holidays. You can even use it to withdraw money from your account when traveling abroad.

#5: Cashbacks and rewards

For certain transactions, debit cards offer cashbacks and rewards. The rewards can be in the form of movie tickets, airport lounge access, hotel room offers and more. Some even offer waiver of fuel surcharges.

Apart from these benefits, debit cards are simple to use. You can easily know the debit card fees or charges by visiting the bank’s website.