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Date Published : Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Debit cards are becoming more commonplace in purses and wallets across Australia. While not yet fully replacing the Aussie love of the credit card, debit cards are fast becoming a manageable option for many consumers.
The market share of debit cards is a lot lower in Australia than in other parts of the world - in the UK, for example - but they are becoming more popular. In 2006, debit cards controlled 33 per cent of the market share.
As with credit cards, the two main players in the debit card market are Visa and Mastercard. Visa debit cards have been on the Australian market for a number of years now but Mastercard only joined the scene in 2005.
Since its introduction, Mastercard has linked up with a host of Australia's biggest financial institutions - including BankWest and ANZ - to offer customers a range of deals.
Some debit card accounts allow you to establish a line of credit, where you can overdraw your account up to a specified limit, whereas some offer a charge back feature similar to credit cards.
A number of financial institutions promote fee-free EFTPOS purchases when you select credit rather than savings or cheque when making a purchase with your debit card.
Most everyday transaction accounts offer you a number of free electronic transactions per month, then charge you for excess transactions.
Using your debit card and pressing 'credit' could save you any transaction fees you might be charged over your free transaction limit.
Currently, credit cards still have the bigger share of the Australian pie. However, with moves by many of the major banks to change that, debit cards could become 2008's must have accessory.
Compare and apply for Australia's best credit card offers.

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