The arrival of plastic money changing the face of financial transactions:
The advent of plastic cards has revolutionized the way we do transactions. Among them, the use of debit cards has increased so much in certain countries that it has replaced the traditional way of transaction totally. This plastic money has become immensely popular because of the convenience it offers. Now, there is no need to carry cash.
These plastic cards are of three types; the
debit card, the credit card and the prepaid card. One just has to carry the card, credit card or
prepaid card for making payments at financial institutions. These three types of cards have different features and offer different facilities to the users. Whereas the debit cards are used to pay the amount as available in ones bank account, the credit cards allow for withdrawing more than ones bank balance, to be paid later by the customer. Another one is the prepaid card which is entirely different from the previous ones. These cards are updated periodically with cash. That is why they are also known as reloadable prepaid cards.
By using these cards, there is no risk of losing money by accident. The risk is more so in case of large amount of money. Although, the use of these cards poses other kinds of risk such as electronic fraud etc., there are secure mechanisms in place for safe transactions. These cards give the user the convenience of using paying any financial institution anytime and anywhere in the world. So, you need not face the burden of carrying large amount of money with the danger of losing or of theft.
One can use these cards at special machines called ATMs which are located at all the important places in all cities in the world. For operating the ATM, the user should first insert the card at the place provided. Then the user must punch her / his secret number when prompted. Then one is simply required to follow the displayed instructions. This is an automated process involving 6-7 steps. After you finish off, cash is pushed through the outlet in the ATM. The user also has the option of receiving the receipt of his or her particular transaction.
In this way, it gives the user great convenience and flexibility in financial transactions. This mode of payment is highly comfortable and gives one the freedom to transact money anywhere in the world while shopping or otherwise.