How does a debit/credit card work?

If you have a "check card", or a credit card that is linked to your debit account how does it work?





I know if you debit something it comes right out of your checking account, but if you decide to use the "credit" portion of the card how does that work?





Any insight would be helpful. Thanks.|||A "debit" hits your account immediately because you authorize it using your PIN number. A "credit" can take up to 48 hours to come out of your account because you authorize it with your signature.





Most businesses would prefer you to use your card as an ATM (debit) because they get charged a fee for processing a credit card (visa might charge them 2% of the amount for instance) which gives them less profit. Banks like you to use the ATM feature because the money is processed immediately.





Hope this helps!