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Released: June 25, 2011

Debit cards poised to get much more expensive for consumers

Source: E. Scott Reckard, Los Angeles Times

Debit cards, a gleam in bankers' eyes 30 years ago, have become the preferred method for people to tap their bank accounts, a free and easy alternative to paper checks, live tellers or cash machines. U.S. shoppers used them 37 billion times last year, making them more popular than credit cards (19 billion transactions) and checks (18 billion), according to the payments newsletter Nilson Report. Another estimate puts the figure at 45 billion debits. But big changes are afoot that could make it much more expensive for consumers to use the cards. And with concern rising over data breaches, some privacy advocates are recommending that shoppers return to cash or use credit cards, which provide better protection against fraud losses.

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