# Are debit cards so dangerous they're not worth using?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-debit-cards-so-dangerous-theyre-not-worth-using/536294>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [April 16, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-debit-cards-so-dangerous-theyre-not-worth-using/536294 "2010-04-16T03:07:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-debit-cards-so-dangerous-theyre-not-worth-using/536294/41 "2010-04-16T18:34:18Z")

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**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-debit-cards-so-dangerous-theyre-not-worth-using/536294/42 "2010-04-16T21:21:20Z")

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> [@Rayne\_Man](#):
>
> At the risk of repeating myself, all the above would be avoided if the US banking system follows the example of many other countries, and adopts a chip and PIN system on debit cards. What’s holding them back?

I think e factor is because the credit card companies pushed PCI-DSS security changes in the US first, while chip & PIN was being pushed in Europe. It’s tough to do both at the same time. Europe did c&p and then moved onto PCI.

However, the US could now move to c&p, but it hasn’t really happened yet. Some retailers (e.g. Best Buy) have bought compliant PIN pads in anticipation, but any enforced move to c&p is still a long way off.

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**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2010, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-debit-cards-so-dangerous-theyre-not-worth-using/536294/43 "2010-04-16T23:13:29Z")

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> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#):
>
> **Broomstick** , that’s not entirely true. Credit card companies eat a lot of losses to credit card fraud. It’s just that, generally, those losses are less than the profit they’d lose if they required better authentication at the time of purchase.

They have a financial incentive to discourage fraud yes - but not a financial incentive to make their cards more secure for precisely the reason you mention. It costs them more.

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