While online shopping has been gaining more and more fans across Europe, there are many who remain unfettered by the rise of credit and debit cards, Visa and Mastercard. Instead, they resort to bank transfers and ATM references, mistakenly thinking that they are the safest online payment methods.
Why do people feel insecure about online payment methods?
The major reasons consumers feel insecure when using credit or debit cards as their online payment methods are:
- The fear of sharing their data online;
- Using cards requires users to wait a few days for the transaction to show up in their bank account. With other forms of payment, such as bank transfers, bank statements display each movement instantaneously.
- Most users assume that when using the card they are in fact soliciting a credit from their banking institution, which will then require paying interests.
While these justifications might sound intuitively valid, they are essentially wrong.
Online card are safe online payment methods
Contrary to popular belief, when you make a purchase with a card you are in fact activating a broad set of safeguards. This is why cards are one of the safest available online payment methods.
Protection against fraud
When using a card as an online payment method, the consumer is, in fact, protected. What happens if the card owner reports any fraudulent movements? The standard procedure requires the issuing entity, either Visa or Mastercard, to return disputed amounts while working to solve the issues.
Insurance against misuse
Most credit cards entities provide insurance against misuse. As long as cardholders can prove that they did not order a certain transaction, credit card companies will reimburse that amount.
Immediate and interest-free payments
What if you prefer your bank statement to immediately reflect the purchase, without having to wait for a couple of days? There is a solution: credit cards offer the option to make payments in advance. This means that the credit card company will instantly deduct the amount, rather than do it in the future, at a time that may not be convenient.
As an alternative, it is possible to use the credit card for online purchases and then make an immediate payment to the card through a reference. In doing so, users settle the credited amount when they transfer funds from their checking account into the credit card account.
In addition, all credit cards have a 30-day interest-free payment option, so you are not asking for a loan.
Reflection period
In any situation that does not go as expected, the buyer has 14 calendar days from the moment he receives his order to cancel the purchase, and return the product. This reflection period safeguards online shoppers against fraudulent suppliers.
There is a multitude of valid reasons to cancel the order within the reflection period. For instance, you might experience delays, face misleading website descriptions, or have to deal with errors in sizes. Sometimes, the supplier may not deliver at all.
If any of these scenarios occur, you can always return the product and cancel the order. Either way, the money does not leave your account.
For these reasons, contrary to popular belief, credit and debit cards are amongst the most secure online payment options.