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Debit cards are the fastest growing consumer payment method despite being more expensive and less versatile than credit cards. In this paper, we investigate some of the oft cited explanations for debit card use. Checking account data shows that debit card use is correlated with age, pay frequency, overdrafting, and ATM use, but not income, gender, crime, or expenditure. The data contain some signs that debit cards might be used as a method of spending restraint. (JEL D14, G21, L14 ) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]