Debit cards are as widely accepted as credit cards and transactionally, they work in a similar way.  However, there are a few things that separate debit cards from credit cards.  A debit card is linked to your personal bank account. As soon as you make a purchase with a debit card, the money is immediately withdrawn from the account associated with it.  There is no bill at the end of the month.   When you make a purchase with a credit card, you are simply lowering your amount of available credit, and you will receive a bill at the end of the month for which you are responsible.  Lastly, the activity on a credit card shows up on your credit report, but the activity on debit card does not.

If you don’t want to worry about carrying a lot of cash around with you, a debit card is a great option.  Alternatively, prepaid cards are an option if you don’t have a personal checking account.  You can build up your available balance on your prepaid card simply by making cash deposits at most major grocery stores and gas stations.  A prepaid card works a lot like a debit card – once the money is gone, it’s gone.  A prepaid card will not allow you to charge over the available balance and there are no bills or interest fees.