Right on the money. In the US at least, there are a ton of laws and protections for consumers when it comes to disputing charges and credit card fraud in general. It is much harder to do this with debit.
Have had only debit for 20years and never used credit. I have not seen a single transaction rejected because the visa/MC debit cards weren't credit cards. Either they aren't countless or they must be focused to a few countries.
And what happens when someone snarfs your number and clears your bank account out? How do you pay the rent? With credit, it's the banks money that gets stolen, and they worry about getting it back, not me.
For consumers, credit vs debit is in theory about the same, in practice it's slightly different. The main difference though is consumer vs business. A business debit card attached to a checking account, is the same problem with fraud as the checking account itself, the burden is almost entirely on the business not the bank.
> With credit, it's the banks money that gets stolen
Regardless of debit or credit the CC company always has responsibility if there is fraud. With debit I might risk having an empty account for a longer period of time after an incident though (Refunds might take a while).
It's a reality in the states. But, yes, it's weird.
We model credit worthiness largely on past payments of credit; which means that we are incented to use the system.
I don't see using my credit card as really "using credit." I use it as a charge card and pay every bill as it comes; so it's merely a (30-59 day) float. I, of course, have a difference financial capability than much of the US, and recognize that privilege. For many people, CC float is what let's them live paycheck to paycheck and is the first brick in Americans penchant for debt.
That being said; there is a huge benefit to many consumers having a short term credit facility. It's as if the CC industry made a micro loans initiative. (And then proceeded to abuse it).
Debt isn't bad. I recently purchased a car. Given my credit, I was offered 1.8% financing with first months interest paid for. If I took it, they would throw in a bunch of perks like lifetime oil changes, loaner cars for repairs, etc. I did, drove home, immediately paid off the loan, and continue to enjoy the benefits. No worrying about bank checks or cash or whatever. Credit makes my life so much easier. Credit and even debt is not the problem - it's living beyond your means.
What I did was take the money I would have used to pay the car off, and instead put it into a term deposit for the same duration as the loan payments, thus earning myself a couple percent above the loan rate with no risk.
