Bouncing a check sucks, besides the ridiculous not-sufficient-funds fee, banks can cut you loose if you bounce one too many checks. With the spread of information with the advent of the internet and a mysterious black list database, banks could deem you and your account to be more of a liability than an asset and actually close your account. I’ve never heard of this but I’ve never bounced a check and never known anyone to bounce more than a check or two by accident - never done in an attempt to play the float.

If you ever bounce a check and are forced to pay an NSF or any other fee, be sure to kindly ask them to reverse the charges. If it’s your first (or at least the first in a long while), they’ll like it remove it without incident. If they don’t, threaten to take your business elsewhere… and if they let you leave, then leave.

3. Bouncing a couple of checks can cost you your bank account.
Not only can your own bank kick you to the curb, but it can put you in a financial database that acts as a kind of black list, says Rutter. Result: For up to five years, other banks could be leery of giving you an account.

A host of technological advances have exacerbated the problem. Among them: widespread use of debit cards, which don’t necessarily stop working when the account is empty and new financial regulations and processing methods that have cut the “float time” (the period it takes to process a check) that many people build into their bill-paying schedule.

Use online banking or toll-free numbers to keep tabs on your accounts, especially if you’re a debit card addict.

This is part of a series of articles taking a closer look at the tips provided by Bankrate’s Debt Counselors’s 15 tips article.

Source: Bankrate

You know that ATM card you received from [insert bank name here] that doubles as a debit card? Don’t use it like a credit card - use it like an ATM card. See, debit cards are not your friends. They are not your friends because many don’t give you any sort of cash back benefit (Bank of America does have a Keep The Change program), most will charge you high fees if you over charge your balance, and in general the protections in place aren’t as good as credit cards.

No Cashback

Cashback is the number one financial reason you should be using a credit card whether it’s a mundane 1% back on everything of a lucrative 5% cash back on gasoline and supermarket purchases, a percentage back is better than getting absolutely nothing for swiping. Most debit cards don’t have a cash back benefit and so in this arena a debit card loses to a credit card.

Protections

In the past, debit cards didn’t have the same level of limited fraud liability ($50) and their fraud prevention resources were far weaker than credit cards, that has since changed but there still is a disparity, especially if you have a small regional bank. Not only that but if someone steals your card, they have access to all of your money, not an illusory “credit limit.” Lastly, because of the limited fraud resources, problems take much longer to solve and instead of that illusory “credit limit” being frozen, we’re talking your everyday funds are frozen. It’s a raw deal but unavoidable.

Take the cash back, take the fraud protection, use that debit card as an ATM card, nothing more.