With check writing in decline and little if any growth in ATM cash withdrawals, debit cards are becoming the dominant form of payment for consumers, according to a 2006 Federal Reserve Board research report. If you opt instead to authorize payment by signing a sales slip, as you would for a credit card, the payment is processed through a credit-card network and the actual withdrawal from your account occurs later–usually within a couple of days. Another study revealed that customers who used debit cards more than 20 times a year paid an average of $223 in NSF fees annually, compared with $40 for those who didn’t use debit cards at all. Some hotels, gas stations, and other retailers put a hold on funds in your checking account until a debit transaction is processed–which can take from one to several days for signature-based payments. What’s more, while there have been a few well-publicized security breaches involving the theft of debit-card PIN numbers by hackers breaking into store computer databases, retailers generally report that the incidence of fraud is higher when consumers sign for debit purchases rather than using a PIN. Ironically, although your odds of becoming a fraud victim are lower when you use a PIN, your protection from liability if fraud does occur is greater with a signature debit card because card issuers may exclude some types of PIN transactions from their zero-liability policies. read more