Should you press cheque, savings or credit when using your card to make a purchase? This depends on what card you're using. If you're using your debit card that's linked to just one bank account, it doesn't really matter which option you choose.
Every debit card payment terminal you see at a supermarket, service station or any other retailer in Australia has three buttons: cheque, savings and credit. Let’s take a closer look at what would happen if you pressed each one after swiping your card:
It’s always important to be sure that the funds used to pay for your transaction are withdrawn from the right account. For example, do you want to pay for an item on credit (and run the risk of earning interest on your debt if you don’t pay it off in the next 30 days) when you could pay with money from your transaction account? If your card is linked to multiple accounts, pressing the right button will make a big difference.
The button you press will also affect how your payment is processed. Cheque and savings transactions are processed through the EFTPOS system, while credit transactions are processed by Visa or Mastercard. Debit transactions are deducted from your account immediately, while credit purchases are considered “offline” transactions and take longer to process.
When you pay using your credit card, you get the security benefits of Visa and Mastercard’s “chargeback” protection. This makes it easy to get your money back if there is a problem with the transaction, such as if your transaction is processed multiple times or you don’t receive the goods you pay for, and is paid for by the merchant’s bank.
Chargeback protection from EFTPOS, meanwhile, is paid for by your bank, so it costs the merchant less. This is why you will see some stores imposing surcharges or minimum limits on credit card transactions, but not on transactions carried out with debit cards.
This in turn brings us back to another reason why it’s important to press the right button when you pay for a purchase. If there is a transaction account and a credit card account linked to your card, selecting credit could lead to you paying an extra surcharge on top of the purchase price.
| Option | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Credit |
|
|
| Cheque/Savings |
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Some debit cards offer the flexibility to also be used as credit cards. If you have one of these cards and you want to pay by debit, select cheque or savings after swiping.
If you’d prefer to pay by credit, you can select credit after swiping your card or opt to swipe it over the merchant’s contactless payment terminal (PayPass or payWave). However, be aware that using your dual-purpose card as a credit card will usually attract high interest rates.
With an ever-increasing number of Australians using cards with contactless technology, tap and go payments have largely replaced the traditional methods of payment for transactions under $100. But which account is the money drawn from when you tap your card?
If your contactless card is a debit card, the money used to pay for your purchase will come from the transaction or savings account linked to your card.
If your contactless card is a credit card, the funds will be drawn from your credit card account, regardless of whether there is also a transaction or savings account linked to the card.
If you have multiple accounts linked to your debit card and you’re at all unsure about where the funds will be drawn from when you make a purchase, contact your bank. Once you’re aware of the differences between using cheque, savings or credit to pay for a purchase, you can make better decisions about how you manage your money.
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