The main reason why I use a credit card and rarely use my checking account's debit card is that I see the credit card as being a firewall between the world of scammers and my bank account. If someone double charges my credit card or finds a way to engage in some other fraud on it, that's all encapsulated into that account until it is resolved. If they clean out my bank account, I might be able to get most of the money back, but that's going to take time. Meanwhile I have to find a new way of handling cash flows by moving funds out of more long term accounts.
True, but my point is that it's just a regulatory issue - technically there's no difference between credit and debit cards from a scam/fraud point of view (in fact scammers don't know nor care what account type it is as long as it authorizes their fraudulent transaction). There's no reason why the law can't be updated to offer the same protections for debit cards and make it where a single phone call or button in your banking app can immediately reverse a transaction (and thus give you the money back) while it is being investigated.
In addition, keep in mind that when it comes to payment cards, there are 2 levels of fraud protection. One is offered by the card networks and in the vast majority of cases doesn't care about the bank or the account type. This will cover the vast majority of fraud and in most cases fraud disputes end there and thus would also apply to debit cards (I've used debit cards for all my life and the few instances of fraud I've had have been resolved by card networks just fine in a timely manner - in fact if the bank is willing they are able to credit you the amount immediately while they investigate, though unlike on credit cards they aren't obligated to by law).
The second level is country-dependent and usually specific to credit cards - this is where laws enforce stronger protections and would force the lender to eat the transaction even if a card network dispute isn't successful. This is a purely regulatory difference, and there's no reason the law can't be updated to also apply to debit cards.
Same here. My debit card is used only where fees make use of a credit card prohibitive. I haven't used a debit card in day-to-day transactions in over a decade at this point.
Same with how I use my credit cards specifically to keep my credit score. If the playing field was different (laws and standards) credit cards would not be the necessity they are today.
