A debit card is a plastic payment card that can be used instead of cash when making purchases. For a debit card, the money is immediately transferred directly from the cardholder’s bank account when performing any transaction. Debit cards allow instant withdrawal of cash, acting as an ATM card for this purpose.

The development of debit cards has generally been country specific resulting in a number of different systems around the world, which were often incompatible. Since the mid-2000s, a number of initiatives have allowed debit cards issued in one country to be used in other countries and allowed their use for internet and phone purchases.