Is there a difference between debit cards and credit cards regarding the possibility of refunds?

Once upon a time, it was easier to obtain a refund in cases of fraud or bankruptcy if it involved a credit card rather than a debit card. But many years have passed since then. Today, there is no difference in the ease of obtaining a refund or the right to it, regardless of whether you pay with a credit or debit card.

The VISA system, for example, ensures that those who pay with payment cards, regardless of their name, have an unconditional right to receive the product or service. If there is any discrepancy, VISA is responsible for refunding the cardholder.

So, when we, as cardholders, purchase something and the product is not delivered or there is some kind of fraud involved, we simply contact the card issuer (such as indó) and request that they initiate a refund claim. The issuer, assuming there is a genuine issue or fraud, would refund you, and then the matter would be pursued with VISA, which communicates with the acquiring bank (and the issuing bank) to try to recover the funds from the merchant or their bankruptcy estate.

Whether you paid with a credit or debit card doesn't matter in such cases, and in no instance does the cardholder incur any liability in the bankruptcy or towards the merchant. VISA handles all of this through its system, involving the issuer (e.g., indó), the acquiring bank (e.g., Rapyd), the merchant, or the acquiring bank (e.g., Landsbankinn). As a cardholder, you only need to submit a claim that the issuer will pay if the claim is found to be valid.