Debit card

A debit card (also known as a bank card or check card) is a plastic card used for payment of goods and services, and is an alternative to a paper check. A regular debit card is issued by a bank and allows direct access to the cardholder's checking account. It is an alternative to a credit card because it does not allow access to any line of credit and no interest is charged because no money is borrowed, and it allows a convenient alternative to carrying cash or paper checks. Unless the account allows for overdraft, the cardholder cannot access any money beyond that in the particular checking account when using a debit card.

Prepaid debit cards exist, and have a specific amount of money able to be used, and these cards are often used as gift cards as an alternative to gift cards only valid to be used in a particular institution (i.e. McDonalds, Walmart) because they are issued by companies such as MasterCard and a prepaid MasterCard debit card for instance can be used anywhere MasterCard is accepted. Some prepaid debit cards are reloadable and may be used in this way so that the card is not tied to any checking account, and additional security is available.