The following guidelines, and everyday examples, may help if your debit card is lost or stolen.

Guideline 1

Give your financial institution timely notice.

As a debit cardholder, it is your responsibility to notify your financial institution within two business days from the moment you realize your card has been lost or stolen. If you do this, your liability is typically capped at $50.

Example 1

Because you reported it within two business days of discovering the theft, you are responsible for just $50 of the loss, not the full $260.

Example 2

You reported the theft within two business days of discovering the crime and you are responsible for the entire $40 loss. But it is less than the $50 liability cap.

Guideline 2

You fail to give timely notice.

If you do not notify your financial institution within two business days of discovering the loss or theft of your debit card, your liability increases to the lesser of $500 or the sum of:

• $50 or the amount of unauthorized transfers that occur within the first two business days after you learn of the loss or theft, whichever is less; and
• The amount of unauthorized transfers that occur after the close of two business days and before notice to your financial institution of the loss or theft, provided that your financial institution establishes that these transfers would not have occurred had you notified them within the two-day period.

Example 1

Because you were aware that your card was lost or stolen, but you did not notify your financial institution within the two-day timeframe, your liability cap increases to a maximum of $500. In the example above, you are liable for $250. Here’s why:

Within the two business day window, the perpetrator spent a total of $360. If you had notified your financial institution or credit union at that point, you would be liable for only $50, as explained in Guideline 1 above. That $50 liability limit applies for those two days, even though you didn’t report the loss or theft within the two business day time frame.

Because you failed to notify your financial institution, and the thief continued to spend on your card, an additional $200 was lost on Friday.

Guideline 2 says you are liable for up to $500 if you fail to notify your financial institution within two business days. Because an additional $200 was lost after the first two business days, you are responsible for this amount, plus the $50 lost during the two business day window, for a total of $250.

Example 2

Again, because you were aware that the card was lost or stolen, but did not notify your financial institution within the two-day time frame, your liability cap is set at a maximum of $500. In this case, you are only liable for $500 since the total loss is more than that amount. Here’s why:

Within the two business day window, the perpetrator spent a total of $460. If you had notified your financial institution of the loss or theft of your debit card at that point, you would only be liable for $50, as explained by Guideline 1. The same $50 limitation of liability applies for these two days, even though you didn’t report the loss or theft by the end of the second business day.

Because the perpetrator continued to spend on your card prior to your notification to your financial institution, an additional $1,000 was lost on your card.

Guideline 2 indicates that you are not liable for any amount exceeding a total of $500, so you are responsible for only $500 of the total loss ($50 from the fraud during the first two business days and $450 from the $1,000 of fraud that could have been prevented had you reported the card loss sooner).

As noted earlier, even under these scenarios, many financial institutions offer zero liability on personal debit cards. That means the debit cardholder is not held liable for any fraudulent use of the card. To learn more, click here to read the EFT Act (Regulation E).