Debit cards

Debit cards are linked to your savings account and allow you to withdraw money or use your card at a store to buy goods. With a debit card, your spending is limited to the money that is in your account.

Some debit cards can be linked to a ‘line of credit’. This is really a personal overdraft, and means that you can ‘overdraw’ your account up to a specified limit.

Withdrawing money from an ATM is easy – just insert your card, put in your PIN and you have access to your money.

BUT, if you give your card and your PIN to someone else they can access your account, withdraw all of the money and – there is nothing you can do about it.

Debit and credit card transaction fees

Did you know that if you use your debit or credit card in banks or credit union’s ATMs other than your own, some banks and credit unions charge a fee of between $1.50 and $2.50 for each transaction (depending on your bank’s fee charges). This fee might apply even if you are just checking your balance.

Check with your bank – you could have some cost savings if you use your bank’s ATM only.

This is particularly costly for rural and remote consumers who have only one type of ATM in their community or local store.

Some consumers have been caught out when waiting for wages or social security payments to be put into their bank account. Using the ATM to check a bank balance can be costly.

One consumer in a remote community was checking her balance every hour, not realising that she was being charged $2.50 a time. By the end of the day, $15 had been deducted from her account in bank fees!

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