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Difference between credit or debit card payments at POS


Question

What is a difference between paying with credit or debit card at POS Virtual terminal?

Answer

Paying with a credit or debit card at a Virtual POS terminal or PIN Pad might seem as the same type of transaction, but in reality each card has its different aspects and advantages when it comes to making a purchase with it.

  • Credit card allow its holder to postpone the date when a payment is due. That is, if you make 10 purchases per month, you will be able to pay them the next month. The advantage of this characteristic is that you can make purchases even though the credit card balance is 0. 
  • Credit card spending limits are usually much higher than those of debit card. Debit cards are limited daily to a certain withdrawal amount of cash and purchases at PIN Pad or POS terminal. Credit cards have a monthly credit limit that, depending on the credit risk that the cardholder, can be increased.
  • Paying with a debit card is like paying in cash, the money is immediately gets debited from your bank account and the bargaining power against a chargeback is weaker than when paying with a credit card.
  • Debit cards do not usually include online shopping protection protocols or purchasing insurance, whereas the owners of credit cards count with 3 month post sale guarantee of the product.
  • The customer service for credit card holders has a much higher level than the one offered to debit card holders. Usually it is premium and more personalized, any incident a client might have related to his credit card will be solved with just one call.
  • When there is an unauthorized charge on your card, the refund process is much faster if the product or service was paid with a credit card.  
  • If you make a purchase abroad and the merchant does not have DDC control activated, the costs that credit card payments suppose are much higher comparing to those made with debit card.  
  • For a card holder there is completely no difference in fees when paying with credit or debit card. However, the merchant will be charged higher commissions if his customer pays with a credit card.
  • The fight against fraudulent activities with credit cards is more effective. It can be explained by the higher limits that credit cards have and the fact that it is a bank that lands you the money for the purchase.   
  • The fees for holding a premium credit card are more expensive than for debit card.
  • Both cards have EMV security chip. 
  • Both credit and debit cards usually function under 3D Secure protocols for Visa, MasterCard and Safe Key for American Express.

As you can see, paying with a credit card has more advantages and less risk of fraud than paying with a debit card. However, it is very important to differentiate several types of credit cards. On the one hand we have the typical Visa and MasterCard credit cards offered by banks, on the other hand we have Premium credit cards that belong to card brands such as American Express, Diners Club, Union Pay and JCB.




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