Spending on a debit card can be so handy that it’s difficult to track, requiring more care than spending on a credit card. But it can be done through financial software, which also helps account holders recognise fraudulent transactions in time to prevent further fraud.

Most debit cards are linked to a bank account of some sort, often a transaction account, with a number of transactions made that have nothing to do with the card. While it can be useful to see the whole financial picture in this manner, it can be harder to monitor debit card transactions when they’re buried amongst cheques, transfers, and ATM withdrawals. This only increases the difficulty of monitoring spending.

Online bank statements can help with this process. Almost all transaction accounts send out bank statements, usually every month through the post. However, there is a growing movement amongst banks to go paperless, with account statements only sent or accessible over the internet. This is designed to cut down the account’s costs as well as assisting the environment through reducing usage of paper and ink.

These online statements can often be interactive, either through the online banking platform or downloaded to financial software, making it possible for the account holder to filter how he or she is spending the money. A filter can be programmed and applied, to total sums spent through the debit card, ATM withdrawals, and cheques. As the statement will list the shops where the debit card was used, unlike cash withdrawn through an ATM, this provides an added element of accountability compared to other forms of payment.

It’s a good idea to check all transactions regularly in this way, as debit cards are more susceptible to fraud than other types of payment. Most banks will refund any unauthorised transactions made on a debit card; this is called a zero liability guarantee, and it’s the account holder’s first line of defence when the account has been compromised.

However, there are a couple of conditions attached to this zero liability guarantee. The account holder must not co-operate in the fraud, for example by allowing another person to use the debit card, and the account holder must inform the bank in good time the fraud has occurred. But if the account holder doesn’t check their online statements regularly, with or without financial software, they may not notice the unauthorised transactions for months and are likely to find they can’t make the claim successfully.