The banking system has the option of using plastic cards, equipped with magnetic strips and microchips, to make payments or withdrawals. With new technologies, these cards offer a secure method for different transactions. There are different types of cards, depending on the needs and economic availability of the individual, mainly divided into credit cards and debit cards.
1) The credit card
The credit card is issued on the basis of the stipulation of a contract between the customer and the issuing institution, which provides for a credit line available to the customer. His release is assessed on the basis of income, which must be medium-high. There are also annual fees, shipping fees and a stamp duty. Associated with international circuits such as Visa and MasterCard, this card allows you to make payments via POS (Point 0f Sale) and online, or to withdraw cash (cash advance) from an automatic teller machine (ATM - Automated Teller Machine). Each payment by credit card determines a reduction on the amount available on the credit line. The limit and reimbursement of expenses made differ between the various types of credit cards.
CREDIT CARD WITH BALANCE REFUND
The amounts paid during the month are collectively debited from the account linked to the credit line, usually by the middle of the following month.
CREDIT CARD WITH INSTALLMENT REFUND (REVOLVING)
The expenses are repaid through an installment plan, thus re-establishing the credit line. The installments include an interest rate which is agreed by the Global Effective Annual Rate (APR). Additional installments can be agreed to restore creditworthiness faster. It is also possible to debit the expenses made directly to your account.
CREDIT CARD WITH MONTHLY OPTION
The customer can choose to reimburse expenses infrequently or collectively, each month or however they prefer. The choice is registered by telephone, automatic telephone answering machine, in the branch or online.
MULTIFUNCTION CREDIT CARD
The choice of payment method (by installments or collective) must be determined for each individual expense.
2) Debit cards
The debit card is issued by the credit institution to the applicant, holder of a current account to which it is connected. Each operation is debited from the current account daily, according to the currency of the day. It can be used to withdraw the sums deposited on the current account at domestic and foreign ATMs (ATMs) affiliated with the circuit to which the credit institution issuing the card adheres, or to make payments at merchants equipped with POS (Point of Sale) and authorized to execute the transaction. Cash withdrawals via debit card may have a daily and monthly limit, established in the initial contract. The expected costs for owning a debit card concern fixed annual commissions and additional commissions when, for example, the card is used at ATMs belonging to credit institutions other than the one issuing the card itself.
The Bancomat (ATM)
The Bancomat (in English ATM, Automated Teller Machine) is an automatic teller machine which, through the use of payment cards equipped with a PIN code, allows you to carry out operations including cash withdrawal and deposit, deposit of checks, printing of current account associated with the card, transfers and payments, telephone top-ups, payment of bills. The use of bank branches adhering to the same institution issuing the payment card generally implies free commissions or lower costs for transactions carried out through branches of different institutions.
Types of fraud through ATMs
The frauds described below usually occur at ATMs on weekends and after the adjacent branch has closed, rarely through unaware POS merchants.
cloning: using a device to copy the magnetic stripe of the card and steal the PIN code;
film theft: capturing the card and stealing the PIN through the use of film or wire, pretending to offer help;
theft with deception: carried out by two individuals who distract the cardholder while he collects and spy on the PIN code, then walking away with the card;
banknote capture: by applying a double-sided aluminum plate to hold the cash issued during a withdrawal.
The POS (Point of Sale)
Merchants equipped with the POS device allow the customer to debit the amount of the transaction from their current account using the card connected to it. The merchant pays a commission as a percentage of the amount for the service and to reduce the customer's risk of default (in the case of a credit card). However, the risk of fraudulent use and possible incorrect debits remains with the cardholder.
