jackal

Oh, trust me--they are a risk.

Debit card customres are MUCH more likely to be problematic than credit card customers. While there are many exceptions, generally, someone who only has a debit card only has a debit card because they cannot get a credit card (whereas it's really easy to get a bank account). That is, they tend to have a shoddy credit history, which is usually representative of general irresponsibility.

These people also tend to live paycheck-to-paycheck, meaning that there is often not much in the way of excess funds in their account. This can make it hard to charge for extensions--or even more importantly, damages or incidentals, which is doubly bad because these kinds of things tend to happen more with irresponsible people.

I've also seen people close their bank accounts right in the middle of a transaction. Because bank accounts are often free or have no commitments, it's easy for a shady person to simply uproot, close a bank account, and disappear without paying what they owe (and, in the case of my industry, to take our car with them). Although it's of course possible to close a credit card account, someone responsible enough to have the credit required for even a basic credit card is much more likely to feel invested in that card and much less likely to just ditch it. And someone who has the credit score necessary to close and reopen cards (yay Citi churners! ) is likely to be responsible enough to be entrusted with a hotel room or rental car.

And people who only have prepaid cards? Blech. Those are reserved for the absolute lowest tier of society--people not responsible enough to even get a basic checking account with a debit card...

(Pardon my cynicism, but I've been bitten in the rear far too many times from people I went out on a limb and trusted, bending our policies because I believed their promises and had sympathy for their situations...)