Online payment by credit card is safe

Read more to find out what makes payment by credit card the safer option, and why it’s a good idea to use a credit card especially for online payment.

Your money is safe when you pay by credit card

When you pay by credit card, the credit card company acts as buffer between your money and the online store: the sum is charged from the credit account linked to the card, not directly from your bank account as in debit card payments.

Each month, you'll receive a bill for your credit card payments, meaning the payments made using the credit facility. You can decide to pay it with a single payment or in instalments. If you pay the bill in full, you'll avoid having to pay any additional charges. You get a 35-day interest-free billing period on average.

You get cover for credit purchases under the Consumer Protection Act

Under the Consumer Protection Act, if a retailer breaches a sales contract for a purchase made with credit, you can apply for a refund from your credit card company. Breach of contract occurs if a product or service you bought is defective or lost in transport, or the retailer goes bankrupt, and you never receive the product.

You can also apply for a refund if your airline or tour operator goes bankrupt or cancels your journey without paying you back.

Strong identification protects payment

Within the EU, the Payment Service Directive requires strong identification from the customer whenever account information or payment services are used. This means that you can safely enter your card details when using an online store.

After entering your card details, you’ll be automatically forwarded to OP’s identification service, for identification using Mobile key or your online bank user ID. After identification, you can accept the payment and await delivery with peace of mind.

Checking your card transactions is easy

It’s easy to track and check card payments from the credit card transactions or the bill on OP-mobile and the op.fi service. It’s advisable to have recurring payments, like Spotify or Netflix, taken from a credit card so they don’t get mixed up with the other daily expenses.

If you notice credit card transactions that you don’t recognise, deactivate your card immediately by calling OP’s Deactivation Service on 0100 0555 (open 24/7). You can then submit a correction request or a complaint about the card transactions.

Issue a complaint

Remember to set spending and withdrawal limits for your card

Sometimes, a card can get lost or be stolen no matter how careful you are. Spending and withdrawal limits will protect the card against misuse in such cases.

It is worth setting spending and withdrawal limits that correspond to your daily use of your card. You can set daily spending and withdrawal limits for cash withdrawals, swiped payments, and online and in-app payments. If you rarely make online purchases, the limits for online purchases should be kept small. If you set the limit to 0 euro, your card can’t be used for online purchases at all.

You can change the limits easily, whenever you wish, on OP-mobile or the op.fi service. The new limits will take effect immediately.

Check the spending/withdrawal limits of your card