One of the basic things we learnt in the post demonetization period is that you can virtually use your debit card and credit card anywhere. Thanks to the spread of the plastic culture, even the typical “Kirana” store round the corner has started accepting credit and debit cards. Let us see how to use debit and credit cards and where to use credit card and debit cards?
Where all can you use your plastic card?
Your plastic, which could either be a debit card or credit card, can be used for a variety of payments. Let us look at some of these payments that can be managed through your debit cards and credit cards.
You can use debit cards to pay at point of sale (POS) outlets. This can include showrooms, retail outlets, jewellery shops and even the grocery supermarkets. Virtually, you can swipe your cards anywhere now. As long as that person has a card machined you can use your debit card. Most debit cards have a debit limit that is prescribed and your daily spend will be restricted by that. Of course, you can go and increase the limit as per your choice after authenticating yourself.
Thanks to the rise of wireless connectivity, it is also possible to use credit cards and debit cards to pay for your purchases from the comfort of your house itself. For example, you can ask the delivery boy to carry the card machine along with them. Nowadays, most delivery persons carry a portable car machine along with them which can be used to swipe from the comfort of your home itself with the normal PIN authentication.
Debit Cards and credit cards can also be used to withdraw cash from the ATMs. Let us talk about debit cards first. For example, if you have an ICICI debit card against your bank account, then you can use at any AMT of ICICI without any limits. However, if you use this card in ATMs other than ICICI, there could be a small charge after a basic minimum number of transactions as prescribed. Of course, be very careful of using your credit cards for withdrawing cash. It not only entails interest payment but you also have to pay additional charges plus GST at 18% and the cost becomes really steep.
Both debit and debit cards can also be used for online transactions on the internet. There are two kinds of payments that you can make. Domestic rupee payments are quite simple, but you can also pay international payments in foreign currency on foreign websites. There are some additional levels of authentication that is required in this case but you are ready to transact. Just ensure that your credit and debit cards are an international card which means they can be used in any currency. Nowadays, most of the cards are international cards which facilitate online international transactions.
Remember, there are some occasions when you can use only debit card but not a credit card. For example, if you using the payment gateway to load your trading account or for payment of insurance premium, then you must necessarily use your debit cards only. You are not allowed to borrow against your credit card and invest in stocks as it goes against RBI regulations. In such cases, including mutual fund investments, you can only use debit cards that are mapped to a specific bank account.
Not to forget, you can also operate and charge your debit cards and credit cards using your telephone. There are two ways to use your credit or debit card over phone. First is through the normal phone banking channel where you go through the appropriate authentication with the TPIN and then are given access to pay. This is normally double verified through the OTP. This is relatively safe. Another common method which a lot of global websites use is to give card details over the phone and then the debit instruction is given on phone itself. While this may appear to be easier, it is less secure and your discussions are open to hacking. You must be a little more cautious using the plastic card this way.