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Introduction to Banking
Debit Cards
A debit card is a plastic card issued by a bank that is directly related to the customer’s bank account. The card can be used to make purchases either by swiping the same physically or using the same online. They eliminate the requirement to carry cash or physical cheques to make purchases. To eliminate the confusion of using multiple cards, banks usually issue a Debit cum ATM card to its customers so that customers can use the same card for making purchases as well as withdrawing money from ATM machines.
Since debit cards are linked to a bank account, they can be used only up to the amount lying as balance in the same account. Additionally, many debit cards have a daily limit for each transaction such as Kotak Mahindra Bank’s #PayShopMore Debit Card has an ATM withdrawal limit of ₹ 40,000 and a purchase limit of ₹ 200,000 per day. This is primarily fixed to secure the card against fraudulent usage.
Usually, each bank has a variety of debit cards and the kind of debit card offered depends on the type of account held with the bank. Kotak Mahindra Bank has 14 different kinds of debit cards for its customers.
Although the primary function of debit cards is to ease transactions, most banks offer innumerable facilities attached to debit cards to make the card propositions more attractive for the customers. Such facilities may include reward points, airline mileage, inbuilt insurance attached to the card, airport lounge access, personal accidental death coverage, and many more. For example, Kotak Mahindra Bank offers complimentary insurance of up to ₹ 55 Lakhs with its Platinum Debit Card, access to a large number of shopping deals with its #PayShopMore Debit Card, and Air Accident Insurance with its World Debit Card. It has several other such attractive propositions attached to each of its 14 types of debit cards.
While banks offer debit or credit cards, they are not the primary issuers of cards. The card is issued by an issuing organization which is a financial services corporation. VISA and Master Card are the two most famous financial services corporations across the world who issue cards. Rupay is an India based domestic card payment scheme launched by the National Payments Corporation of India. In India, most cards are issued by VISA, Master Card, and Rupay.
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