What is Debit Card and Best Debit Card to get in Singapore in 2017

Recently had a chat with friends and the topic eventually got shifted to credit cards. Having slightly better understanding about credit cards, I shared with them why using credit cards is actually beneficial if you know how it works. As the saying goes, money is a good servant but a bad master. If you do not know how money works, then you will be controlled by it unless you take time to find out how it works. However, they said that as they are still not eligible to apply for credit card due to income limitations, they can only rely on atm card. I immediately told them that there is actually an alternate card that they can get which is the "Debit Card". It is like a hybrid between the atm card and credit card. As we discussed quite alot of stuff so for easier reference in case someone asked about debit card, they can refer to this blog post for all the details.

Below is a table that highlight some of the key differences between atm card, debit card and credit card.

ATM Card vs Debit Card vs Credit Card

As you can see, for those who are not eligible for credit card, you should apply for a debit card instead of atm card whose main feature is mainly to withdraw money from the atm. Other than that, the atm card has not much features.

Debit card works quite similarly to the credit card and the only main differentiating factor is the fact that debit card purchases is immediate deduction from your linked bank account whereas credit card has a 30 days period before you are required to pay the bills. This give you extra credit in advance for spending in situation whereby you may be short of cash and need some credit to tide over for a short period. 

Personally I find the features of having to pay for the bills 30 days later helpful as it allows me to check and ensure that i am paying correctly before i actually pay for it. In the event that there could be wrong or fraudulent transactions, I am able to alert the bank first to make adjustments before paying for it. If it was the other way round such as using the debit card, it becomes my responsibility to chase the bank for the money back.

Currently the most common debit cards available in the market are by DBS, OCBC and UOB.

Below are the links to their debit card page which you can click on to check it out on their website.

DBS: Click here

OCBC: Click here

UOB: Click here

The debit card which i personally feel is best suited for my spending behavior and also currently am using is the DBS Visa Debit Card. It gives you 5% cashback for all spending via Visa paywave, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or Android Pay. You can also use it for NETS payment, sign for purchases at shops and even use it for bus or mrt with its NETS Flashpay features. There are some caveats to take note. The 5% cashback is capped at $50 per month which you can get if you do not withdraw from the atm more than three times and below $400 withdrawal every month. 

To make it an even sweeter deal for you, DBS is having promotion for this card where you can get $10 cashback for spending $200 in the first month on top of the existing cashback amount.

Click here to sign up.

Although I have credit cards, I would still use this debit card at times if i exceeded the maximum benefits that i can get from the credit cards. It also gives me the convenience of being able to withdraw money from the atm. It is like having 2 cards in 1 card.

Do you have a debit card too and where is it from? Does it have better features than this DBS Visa Debit Card? Go ahead to comment it below and don't forget to subscribe via email or like our Facebook page for the latest updates!