Why have debit cards become an increasingly popular use in society to purchase products and services?

What happened to people carrying actual cash on them? It seems that debit cards are becoming the norm now.|||Debit cards are easier, there are still some places but very few that don't accept debit.|||Credit cards are safer than carrying around debit cards which are safer than carrying around cash.|||It's kind of a deterrent to muggers when they know they're going to be getting off with some card to which they don't know the PIN rather than a pile of cash in somebody's wallet. It's also easier to track your transactions and keep from bouncing them, if you handle your account properly. Then there's the convenience of paying for gas at the pump rather than having to go into the convenience store, stand in line, take a risk of being in there when some idiot comes in to hold the place up, what-have-you.|||you cant go in debt|||You may not remember it, but in the cash society there was also the "check" society. I'd rather have someone in front of me at a check-out counter with a debit card than a checkbook any day.|||Because cash is a pain in the *** with larger purchases, over 300 bucks. With debit card you get the same consumer protection and even rental car insurance that you can get though your credit card without using credit. I'll admit 2-3 dollar purchases is stupid using a debit card|||It's easier. A person doesn't have to figure out ahead of time how much they will need to pay at the grocery store. It doesn't generate a pocket full of small change. Cash is a bigger draw for theft than a debit card - which is riskier for a thief to use.





There are a lot of advantages.|||Debit cards are easier to handle especially when dealing with change. The downside is that the businesses have to pay for this service while using cash is free. Cops treat you like a criminal and they will steal from you if you carry anything more than $100 cash. America is a police state now and we don't even realize it.|||Hmm, I use a credit card. It shows how you spend your money and if lost or stolen (unlike cash) you can immediately put a block on it.





I guess it is advanced technology...such as now most people pay bills online and do not write checks.|||.


AOL Keyword: d-e-b-i-t.





A 'debit' card can only be used to the extent that you have money in your checking account, because that's where the debit card money comes from: a checking account. If you have $500 in your checking account, you can't spend $1,000. Shoppers do have to remember to deduct their purchases from their checkbook when they get home.





Besides, most stores and the banks prefer customers to use debit cards, rather than checks: less processing, more profit (remember their monthly service charges?).


That way, consumers have more control superimposed on what is usually an impulse-buying mentality that credit cardholders engage in, to their detriment.


Credit card interest was deductible from income taxes until Reagan came to office. That's probably the best thing he ever did. The problem is, the 20- and 30-somethings from then are STILL spending the same way --or they WERE in between down-cycles in our roller-coaster, cyclical economy.


We always seem to forget the tough times and rue our amnesia when we're going down again.





Besides, you don't NEED cash when you have a debit card.


In essence, the card IS cash, without the hassles of cash.





Smart and efficient.


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.|||Because debit cards basically replaced checks, not cash.