What is better, debit card or check?

Debit cards are slowly filling the niche that guaranteed checks once filled

What is better, debit card or check?

* Guaranteed checks, which are issued according to how much money is in an account, have existed in the CR for years. Real credit cards can only be found at Česká Spořitelna. And now, here comes the debit (check) card, which draws directly off a savings or checking account.
Prague (šal, glg)
Guaranteed checks or debit cards? Which is better? In the CR, one of the newest banking services, the debit card, is making its debut in a big way. In fact, bankers say that debit cards are slowly filling the niche guaranteed checks once filled.
"Guaranteed checks should be considered an accessory paying instrument, but that does not mean they don't have their place," said Judita Páralová of Komerční Banka.
Consumers must consider the cost of the services. While guaranteed checks at IPB cost only 3 Kč per check, a debit card costs 50 Kč. At Česká Spořitlena, debit cards are more expensive - 100 Kč, compared to checks which costs 4 Kč.
Guaranteed checks can be used to pay at any of the 3,000 shops which display the red crown logo. Visa and EuroCard/MasterCard debit cards can be used in over 20,000 shops which accept the cards, either credit or debit.
Debit cards and guaranteed checks do not cost anything to use.
One advantage of checks is that when they are lost, they can only be used with proper identification.
What favors debit cards is their convenience at night and abroad. If banks or post offices are closed, the bank client who uses guaranteed checks is out of luck. But money machines are always open, and in developed countries, they are literally everywhere.
In addition, debit card users can go abroad and draw money directly from their account in the foreign currency they need.