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How on earth are they safer than Debit? With Debit, I can’t spend what I don’t have.

I worked on some Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance projects and a particular point was driven home: Let’s say you use your credit card for purchases and someone gets your number and buys a couple thousand dollars with it. You are out, at most, $50 (but it is almost always zero). Now, imagine the same thing happens with your debit card.

I don’t need to go over the particulars. You can imagine the impact if your checking acount is cleared out without your knowledge.

Eventually, everyone I’ve worked with on PCI projects has quit using their debit card for all but getting cash out of the cash machine, and usually even that.

I use a credit card in our modern technological environment as a sort of firewall between me and the financial world. Good stuff goes through but bad stuff coming back hits the firewall.

And going pure cash is simply not practical any more. It’s doable, but I have an acquaintence that has no debt and does everything via cash or checks and has for decades. He can’t get airline tickets. He can’t rent a car. He can go as far as he can drive his car.