USA scenario here: say I have a $2000 car repair bill and use my debit card.
Can’t be bothered to put in my pincode so I hit credit, payment goes through without pincode.
Why does the consumer have the option to pick here?
In: Other
Debit card transactions are treated like cash (direct transfer from your bank account to the merchant’s bank account), so it needs the pincode as an extra level of security at the time of purchase. Credit card transactions are fundamentally different in how money flows (your bank pays the merchant’s bank instantly, then bills you later). Since banks and other parties behind the scenes (like payment networks) benefit from you using credit cards (through fees, interest, etc.), they build in the necessary security safeguards behind the scenes, so in theory you don’t have to worry about it. That’s why it’s easier to dispute and reverse a credit card charge but not a debit card purchase.
Making credit card transactions faster and easier for cardholders is a huge focus of the payments industry, which is why you not only no longer need a pincode, but also see things like tap-to-pay (no longer need to swipe), digital wallets (no longer need a physical card), tokenized online payment credentials (can just click a “buy now” button), and biometric payment authorization (can complete a transaction with just a palmprint or eye scan, etc.).
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