Debitcard: What the bank does

For you, paying with your debit card and pin is very simple. But it involves a complicated security process. When you swipe your card and key in your pin, the POS terminal contacts your bank by entering into a dialogue with a network via a fixed telephone line or data network. Your pin is made unrecognisable via encryption, a technique for coding data using a secret key. These keys are regularly replaced. As soon as contact has been established, the bank checks your balance, your daily limit and whether the card has been stolen. If everything is in order, your bank communicates an authorisation to the POS terminal and you see the text 'Payment accepted. Thank you. Good bye.' If anything is wrong, you will see 'Please use a different payment option'.

• The amount that you can pay or withdraw with your debit card is subject to a daily or weekly maximum. Each bank sets its own maximum, so ask your bank what your daily or weekly limit is.
• Your debit card is issued with a pin. These codes are allocated and printed without human intervention. pins are not registered at the bank either. So only you know your pin.
• For additional security, most debit cards and all credit cards have now been replaced with EMV chip cards. Read more about this on: hetnieuwepinnen.nl (Dutch).