Bank Card, Bank Card Check

A bank card is a plastic card, with a magnetized strip, issued by a bank. Although a bank card looks similar to credit cards, it differs in the way that it draws funds for cash withdrawals from the cardholder’s bank account instead of a line of credit. Thus, a bank card cannot be used to withdraw more money than what is actually available in the account. However, bank cards can still be used as credit cards in the form of a bank card check.

Bank Card: Types

A wide array of bank cards is offered when a customer opens an account. The type of bank card that a person receives varies from bank to bank, and can range from cards that can only be used to access an account through an ATM to cards that are used in the same way as credit cards to make purchases. The various types of bank cards include:

• Debit card: Such bank cards can be used to make purchases at any shop that accepts debit cards. When this type of card is used, the purchase amount is directly and instantaneously debited from the cardholder’s account. To use a bank card as a debit card, the cardholder needs to enter a personal identity number (PIN).
• Credit card: Bank cards can also be used in the same way as credit cards. However, the terminology applied here is slightly misleading, since bank cards do not access any line of credit. The most common type of bank credit card is the ATM check card (bank card check).

What is a Bank Card Check?

A bank card check is an identification card issued by a retailer to allow the cardholder to tender payments by check. These cards were issued in the US by supermarkets and other retailers before the use of debit cards became prevalent.

Banks generally issue these cards to customers at the time a checking or a saving account is opened. These bank card checks act as credit cards, except in the way they fund the cash withdrawals made by the cardholder. While credit cards are linked to a credit line, bank card checks draw the funds from the cardholder’s bank account.