4 Reasons to Delete Your Debit Card From Amazon

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Debit cards aren’t your safest online shopping payment option. 

Amazon is one of the world’s most popular e-commerce sites, and according to Statista, it generated more than $513 billion in net sales revenue in 2022. That’s an awful lot of people clicking that “Buy Now” button on product pages. Here’s the thing about the Buy Now button, though: You need to have a stored payment method to take advantage of it. And herein lies the trouble, as saving a payment method of any kind might not be a good idea. Here’s why you should avoid keeping your debit card information on Amazon.

1. Debit cards are tied to your bank account

While your debit card may look nearly the same as your credit card, it functions differently. Namely, it’s tied directly to the money in your bank account. A credit card, on the other hand, is tied to a line of credit from the card’s issuer, meaning that when you use it, you’re not spending your own money (until you use your money to pay off the credit card). If something goes wrong and a scammer gets access to your Amazon account and makes purchases, they could easily drain your bank account. And it might take a few days (or longer) for the problem to be cleared up with your bank, leaving you short on cash in the meantime.

For this reason, it pays to be extremely careful when you use a debit card to make purchases. And while you may also want to delete your credit card from Amazon, that credit card is a more secure way to make your purchase.

2. Debit cards lack the protections of credit cards

Credit cards are among the most secure payment methods. This is due to the technology involved in creating and managing them, as well as consumer financial protections. Some credit card issuers now offer virtual credit cards for online purchases, meaning your actual credit card information is kept private.

Credit cards also have more robust protections in case of fraudulent spending. If your credit card is used without your consent, you can only ever be held liable for $50 of fraudulent transactions. The best credit cards out there have $0 liability, though. If someone uses your debit card to make unauthorized purchases, the longer you wait to report it to your bank, the more money you could lose. Within two days, your liability is $50. Within 60 days, it’s $500. And if you neglect to report the fraud beyond that, you could be out all the money in your linked bank account.

3. Debit cards usually don’t offer rewards on your spending

In addition to being less secure than credit cards, debit cards often don’t come with the chance to earn cash back, points, or airline miles on your spending. Rewards credit cards do, however, and they come in a variety of flavors. You might consider a credit card that offers higher rewards on online shopping, for example. Or if you like to travel, an airline rewards card can help you pay less for your next flight.

4. Debit cards don’t help you build credit

Finally, using your debit card on Amazon isn’t going to do your credit score any favors. As you use a credit card and pay it off, you’re demonstrating to the card issuer (and future lenders who will see your credit score) that you know how to handle credit responsibly. Since your debit card is tied to your own money, debit card spending isn’t reflected on your credit.

Should you skip the saved payment method altogether?

While all of these reasons should tell you why you don’t want to keep your debit card saved in your Amazon account, you might also want to delete all your saved payment methods, including your credit card. Here’s why:

If you make it harder to shop on Amazon, you might consider your purchases more carefully and save money.You can spare yourself from accidental purchases by your kids, in the event that they gain access to your Amazon account.If you know you’ll have to enter your payment info anyway, you might be more inclined to check prices on multiple websites (and potentially find a lower price), rather than defaulting to Amazon.

Amazon can be a great place to make everyday purchases, as it sells everything under the sun — and more. Just be sure you’re using the right payment method and thinking carefully about whether it makes sense to save that payment info for later.

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The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon.com. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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