Debit card

O.K I have a job and when I opened a bank account at TD they told me I could not withdraw any of my money alone at the bank. The only way I could have access to my money is through Debit Card. I have heard that there are some risks to it but not sure...

what they are. Could you tell me the pros and cons of the debit card thanks

when you have a debit card and you buy something w/ it, it takes a long time for the transaction to process so it'll say you have more money than you really do and so you could end up buying more than you can afford thinking you CAN afford it and SHAZAM!!! your in debt!

According to the consumer advocate clarkhoward.com:MasterCard and Visa offer zero liability protection where you won’t pay any charges if someone uses your credit card to make unauthorised purchases.
In the case of a debit card the fraud protection is similar with a few exceptions. Your liability is still 50 dollars but only if you notify your financial institution with in two business days of the loss of your card. If the card isn’t reported lost or stolen your liability can jump to 500 dollars. It’s also important to check your bank statement regularly. Check it with more than a glance. If there are any fraudulent charges on there and there not reported within 60 days you could be held totally liable.

Before I moved to New York, I loved my debit card. I think I withdrew actual cash from either an ATM or the bank maybe once every couple of months (they frown at tipping at strip clubs with plastic). I used it for pretty much every transaction -- bills, shopping, online transactions -- and never had any problems with it. So one big pro is that if you live in a debit-friendly town, you never need to worry about having money on you. I also never worried about being robbed or mugged. What could they take? A piece of plastic that would become useless as soon as they walked away.

New York, unfortunately, is not a debit-friendly town.

A Debit Card is not the same thing as a Credit Card.

All a debit card does is grant you immediate access to your bank funds. Unless you have set up an overdraft, you can not spend more than you have in your account. If you try to spend more than what is in your bank you will get a Insufficient Funds notice when you go to pay for your purchase.

You can use a debit card for purchases or for taking money out of your account through a debit machine.