Several times I have experienced losing cash to unscrupulous individuals. When I was still employed with a company, I have experienced losing a month’s worth paycheck for about three times. In one of those instances when I lost my wallet to a group of pickpocket criminals while crossing a busy street, I lost a significant amount of cash within that wallet, but the ATM debit cards and IDs still remained in that wallet. The wallet was found by someone else and because of those remaining debit and IDs, that wallet was still returned back to me.
Since then, I decided to use ATM debit cards to pay for higher priced items, depending on the store’s minimum price. In SM Baguio, the minimum payment accepted in their department store is only P100. Other merchants accept P200 as their minimum amount of purchase. To be sure, ask the merchant.
Here are my reasons for using ATM cards:
1. Widely accepted by many merchants. Many mall shops, groceries, hotels and restaurants accept card payments. In my locality, even shops and restaurants that are located out from the mainstream customers even accepts these card payments.
2. Easier to carry than cash. Cash is easily lost to pickpockets and holdups. I think it is better to carry cash to pay for lower priced items under P100 or P200.
3. Less likely to be taken by street robbers. In the Philippines the petty thieves are often interested more in taking cellphones and cash away from the victims. Most street robbers in the Philippines are not too well versed on cracking the code particularly on ATM debit cards because these are secured by PINs.
4. Makes it easier to keep track of transactions. Many Pinoys are now gaining access to the internet. Internet cafes at the neighborhood is fast becoming a trend. Offices are almost always connected to the network and the internet. DSL is now a service available to middle-class consumers.
5. Avoid being robbed after a withdrawal. There are many incidences when an individual is robbed of cash after doing a withdrawal.
6. Avoid long lines at ATMs. Long lines can be quite a hassle and is not secure. After all, many merchants already accept card payments anyway.
Hence, using ATM debit cards is also a great advantage over cash especially at higher amounts, so I think this is a good option to go for – at least for a while that majority of the criminals are not yet aware on how to take advantage of these.
