Debit cards, prepaid cards, wallets and contactless: staying safe

Cards and phone wallets make paying effortless, which is exactly why criminals target them. A few firm habits around PINs, codes and alerts protect almost everything.

Debit, credit and prepaid: what is the difference?

• A debit card spends money already in your bank account. You generally cannot spend more than your balance unless the account has an overdraft.
• A credit card is borrowing. You must repay by the due date, and you may pay a late fee and interest if you do not repay in full.
• A prepaid card is not linked to a bank account. You load money on first and generally cannot spend more than you loaded, which makes it useful for budgeting or travel.
• Some accounts and prepaid cards allow overdrafts, and overdrafts come with fees or interest.

Phone and watch wallets

• When you add a card to a phone or watch wallet, the card number is replaced by a substitute number called a token stored on your device.
• The shop never receives your real card number, and each payment includes a one-time code (a cryptogram) generated on your device.
• Lock your phone with a strong passcode or biometrics, because the phone is now effectively your card.
• If your phone is lost, contact your bank to suspend the cards in the wallet as well as the physical card.

Contactless

• In the UK, the 100 pound cap on a single contactless payment was scrapped from 19 March 2026, and banks can now set their own limits.
• Which? reported that several UK banks let you set a lower contactless limit in their app, and where the bank allows it, even to zero.
• Contactless fraud is relatively low: in the first half of 2025 it was 1.2p per 100 pounds spent, compared with 6.9p for all card fraud, though it rose 27% on a year earlier.
• Contactless limits in the UAE are set by each bank, so check your own bank's app or terms.

PINs, passwords and one-time codes

• The UAE Central Bank and police warn: never share card numbers, online banking passwords, ATM PINs or the CVV security code. Banks will never ask for them.
• Treat any request to share a one-time passcode (OTP), password or PIN as a red flag. An OTP is the key that approves a payment or login.
• Be suspicious if anyone asks you to move money to a new or 'safe' account. That is a classic scam.
• Use the Take Five rule: Stop, Challenge, Protect. Only criminals try to rush or panic you.
• To check a call or message, hang up and contact the bank using the number on the back of your card or in the official app, never the details in the message.

Alerts and card controls

• Turn on real-time spending notifications in your banking app.
• Use the app to freeze a card you have misplaced, and unfreeze it if you find it.
• If a card is lost or stolen, report it immediately. Under UK rules you could be liable for up to 35 pounds of unauthorised payments if you fail to report it, though not if you could not reasonably have noticed the loss or the bank was at fault.
• Check statements carefully every month (see the next lesson).

Common scams in the UAE

• The CBUAE, with Abu Dhabi and Dubai Police, highlighted six common cyber scams: phishing, email hacking, identity theft, invoice fraud, impersonation and loan fraud, and fake products.
• Watch for spelling and grammar mistakes, and verify the sender before acting on any message.
• Be wary of fake job offers and fake investments that ask for money up front.
• Report fraud to your bank first, then to the police. For suspicious calls you can contact the Aman service on 8002626 or by SMS to 2828.