Banking: Credit Cards and Debit Cards


One of the most popular and mostly used way of banking is the usage of payment cards. A payment card is not only another space-waster in your wallet or purse, but it is your connection to your money anytime and anywhere even, when they are safely placed on your account in the bank. There are two main types of payment cards in slovak finnancial market:
- Debit card
- Credit card
By contrast debit cards are widespread and still more popular than credit cards. Therefore also the offer of credit and debit cards is uneven, with probably every bank offering very similar range of domestic or international debit cards and only a few of them offer credit cards. A lot of people still do not know differences between credit and they even confuse debit cards with credit cards.
In this research I have closer focused on differnces between these types of cards in two banks, which are offering their services in slovak republic: Všeobecná úverová banka and Slovenská sporiteľňa. Debit card – they may be divided into two main types:
- Domestic, non-embossed card – Maestro, Visa Electron
- Internationl, embossed card – MasterCard, Visa
Both of this types have the same characteristics such as: customer able to withdraw money in cash from cash mashines and make clearing transactions in Slovakia, simply use them for paying at stores and shops, or even book an accommodation in hotels. Domestic non-emmbossed payments cards (nc) are Maestro and VISA Electron. With MasterCard and Visa, which are international emmbossed cards (ec), clients are able to take advantages of more using possibilities than in nc. Customers are allowed to withdraw money everywhwere in the world instead of only Slovak’s cash machines and the transactions can be proceeded, without involving cash register connected to the network. Another difference is in controling the right owner of payment card. When is client paying by nc he/she has to enter PIN code, but when paying by ec he/she has to sign the receipt as a documentation. Of course, the terms and conditions are more strict to obtain ec. than nc.