Why Credit Cards Are Preferred Over Debit Cards
Credit and debit cards have been in individuals’ wallets and pocketbooks for decades, but the former mode of payment is older than the latter. With a credit card, an individual can make a purchase using the card issuer’s money. The cardholder will have to pay this money back within 15 to 45 days, or else they’ll start paying interest on the outstanding balance.
A debit card, on the other hand, is linked to a bank account. When one spends with a debit card, the amount spent is immediately deducted from their bank account. While both modes of payment are effective and useful, credit cards reign superior.
Credit Cards Offer Attractive Bonuses & Rewards
If you spend with a credit card, you can take advantage of numerous benefits, including one-time bonuses, cash-back, rewards points, and travel miles. Debit cards, on the other hand, do not offer such incentives. When you use a credit card to purchase products and services—and you get a bonus or cash-back for doing so—you spend less, as the bonus money or cash-back can be automatically used to cover purchases, either entirely or in part.
But cash isn’t the only reward cardholders can receive. There are also cards that utilize points systems, and a cardholder can spend gained points on travel, gift cards, and merchandise. Then there are cards that offer free travel miles as a reward for spending, and once a cardholder saves up enough of these, they can use them to cover the cost of airfare, hotels, etc.
In short, using a credit card can get you more bang for your buck, especially if you use the card responsibly. And if you can get a card that doesn’t have an annual fee, that’s even better.
Credit Cards Are Safer
Some credit card issuers back specific purchases with warranties, and others utilize price protection to help cardholders who’ve experienced loss or theft. A credit card issuer may even back purchase with a warranty when one isn’t provided by the merchant.
Credit cards have better fraud protection as well. If a debit card holder becomes the victim of fraud, their money will be used immediately, but for a credit card holder, their card issuer won’t pay the merchant if the transaction is disputed.
Building Credit
How one uses their credit card affects their credit score, whereas using a debit card doesn’t affect the card holder’s credit score at all. If a cardholder consistently pays off purchases on time, such will positively impact their score. Having a low debt-credit ratio will also boost one’s score. Late payments, on the other hand, will lower one’s credit score, and so will a high credit utilization.
To help customers keep track of their credit scores, many card issuers are now offering free credit score monitoring. These tools also help individuals improve their credit scores, as they break down an individual’s credit report so it’s both easy to read and understand.
Both Credit and Debit Cards Are Welcomed with Swipe4Free
Businesses that want to encourage both credit and debit card payments can do so profitably by implementing Swipe4Free credit card machines. When a business does credit card processing through Swipe4Free, it doesn’t have to pay high transaction fees, as these are passed to customers. Instead, a monthly, flat fee is the cost of implementing Swipe4Free payment processing technology. Merchants no longer have to worry about paying for their customer’s bonuses, cash-back, rewards points, and travel miles when they use Swipe4Free for their credit card processing. Contact Swipe4Free today to find out how!
About Swipe4Free
Swipe4Free is the nation’s number one cash discount and surcharging platform. Founded by Leo Vartanov and Chris Benabu in 2015, Swipe4Free allows merchants to pass their credit card processing fees along to the customer by implementing a 4% non-cash charge to all customers who pay with credit cards. The non-cash charge is legal within all 50 states and is automatically waived when customers pay with cash or a gift card. The customers are made aware of the non-cash charge with signage and stickers that we provide for your place of business. You can place the signage on the door of the business as well as on/near the register where customers pay. We also provide language for online businesses to make customers aware of the non-cash charge. This 4% non-cash charge eliminates all your credit card processing fees, allowing you to keep 100% of the profits per transaction made with credit cards. Swipe4Free uses the 4% non-cash charge to cover interchange costs, authorization costs, transaction costs, and support for our merchants.
