@ Kosmo – This is true, but my manager is also my friend…and I was monitoring the activity the whole time, hehehe.

@ DebtFree – That’s very nice, and responsible, of your son! Sounds like you did an amazing job in raising him. Kudos to you!

@ Dawn – I think your approach is best. Being that I work at a credit union, I get to keep a close eye on my account, so I’m more comfortable with certain things then probably most people would be. But, if I ever leave the industry, I’ll know enough to know better then to let people borrow my card.

@ bouncing back betty – Yikes! I’m sorry to hear about the situation with your family! I think maybe I’d let me parents use it, but there is no way I’d let me siblings get a hold of it for the very reason you mentioned!

@ Bionic Librarian – You’re not cynical and there’s nothing wrong with being cautious. Personally, I’m glad to see a married couple that doesn’t have a joint account, it just gets dangerous. I’ve been told that in a relationship you should trust the other person and share equally. Yeah, my answer to that is to work in the banking industry. In six months, I guarantee you’ll find a list of 10 reasons why it’s a good idea to have your own account. I’m not knocking those that have them, more power to them. Myself, I’ll be keeping an individual account.

@ Ginger – I don’t really know the banking laws of Canada, but it shouldn’t be that difficult. They should still be using the same processes as Visa. I’d consider switching banks if you’re having that much trouble with one.

@ Nicole – In truth, I haven’t run across a parent who’s let their kid use their debit card for iTunes, but I’m not surprised. I usually try to encourage gift cards when it comes to kids.

@ Ryan – Thanks, and agreed! The best policy is to really just keep it to yourself.

@ Maria – And why don’t you trust yourself?

@ Rajeev – I drove a friend to the ATM once and she gave me the card and started to tell me the PIN. I stopped her and told her to get out and do it herself, I didn’t want the info. She was a little surprised I think, but I just don’t want to know.

@ Jass – Good people to trust if you’re going to trust anyone.

Thanks for the fabulous comments, you guys!

One needs to be careful with cards as they are as good as money.

Probably is a good policy to never give your card to anyone. Even if they don’t intentionally do harm they could lose your card or use an unsecured website.

So yeah, other then my mother or my sister, I wouldn’t give my card to anyone. Another great reason to carry a little cash at all times, just in case!

Even with our excellent debit card system in Canada, I try to use my credit card as frequently as possible to avoid having my debit card number stolen. It is much harder to recover money stolen from a bank account than stolen from Visa. With a credit card, I am not responsible for any charges, with a debit card I have to fight tooth and nail to prove that it wasn’t me.

I don’t think anyone should share their debit cards. Credit cards, maybe. But not your debit card. It’s the gateway to all your bank accounts!

It probably helps that I’m the daughter of a banker and took lessons around privacy very seriously… Call me cynical or just cautious, but I like having control on my finances.

I had a family member I trusted with a card I had given them for emergency use commit identity theft and also ran up the card. It caused huge family problems and at the time, I was pressured into not filing a police report by other family members. I got paid back over the span of a couple months. Burned once, don’t want to be burned twice.

The scary thing is my old boss used to give me his credit card all the time to buy lunches when we were on the road. His name is not a unisex one. No one ever checked the card, signature, or anything. It was a sign, swipe, and it was mine deal.