&#8220Debit or credit?”.

Anyone who has opted to pay with plastic over the old standard – cash or check – hears this question daily at convenience stores, supermarkets, retail shops and even fast food restaurants.

The question may center on what type card is being tendered, but it also relates to how the transaction is processed.

Michael Lindsey, senior vice president at BancorpSouth, said whether the customer offers a debit card and punches in a four-digit secret code called a PIN or chooses credit and uses the same card – it’s all the same. For the customer, that is.

&#8220All debit is tied to the customer’s checking account,” he said. &#8220But, there are two types of transactions. With ‘debit,’ the customer enters a PIN, and it’s processed through the national ATM network. And the transaction is posted to the account quicker.”

If &#8220credit” is chosen, the transaction may go through immediately or it may take several days, he added. Credit cards and credit transactions on debit cards are processed through Visa, Matercard or Discover national networks.

While the option should make no difference to the customer using the card, it’s the stores’ owners who may have a preference.

&#8220Merchants encourage debit, because it costs less for them to process as debit,” Lindsey said. &#8220With credit, they are paying a percentage of the transaction amount. For debit, it’s a flat fee.”

On a $100 transaction swiped as credit, the merchant may pay $2 or more. If the customer chooses debit for the same purchase, the merchant will pay about 15 to 20 cents.

Initially, banks offered plastic cards to checking and savings account holders for used at ATMs, or automatic teller machines. Around 1995, a stronger push to plastic began when merchants started accepting the ATM cards for direct payment.

Before then, lines at banks on paydays stretched out the door with people wanting to deposit checks and withdraw cash for convenient spending, said Nick Anderson, Trustmark’s senior vice president of bank operations. But with the growing trend in debit cards and electronic banking, lines have subsided and customers are banking more on convenience.

&#8220Debit cards are all-inclusive,” he said. &#8220You can use the card anywhere.”

Anderson said the push to the international companies, such as Visa and Mastercard, has made so people can travel all over the world, toting only a debit card.

&#8220We’ve seen a decrease in check usage,” he said. &#8220And, annually, we have had a 23 to 25 percent increase in debit transactions. We project that that will continue as more and more places accept them.”

A person using a debit card can purchase only up to the amount in his or her checking account. Credit card users, however, may use up to the limit allotted by the credit card company and are expected to pay back that amount, plus interest, over time.

&#8220If you have a credit card with a $5,000 limit, you can spend, spend, spend, and that’s a loan you’ve got to pay,” Anderson said. &#8220With debit, it takes a disciplined approach for your checking account to have the funds available before making purchases.”

Whether credit or debit, he said plastic is simply safer – and more convenient – than checks or cash.

&#8220It’s guaranteed funds,” he said. &#8220It’s so easy for a fraudulent person to get checks printed. Merchants would rather you use plastic because it’s guaranteed.”

With the trend toward plastic in full swing, Anderson said more and more bank customers are – and will continue – swiping for goods.

&#8220Kids in high school and college – they want their piece of plastic,” Anderson said. &#8220It used to be just the younger generations, but we are rapidly seeing older generations using them because of how convenient they are.”