According to the Nilson Report, an industry newsletter, one in three Americans use Visa or MasterCard debit cards last year, up from 17% in 2000. Meanwhile, regarding to credit cards, the numbers have gone down to 73% in 2006 from 82% in 2000. Debit cards are still very popular with those who have not good credit. Capital One is testing a new kind of debit card which is supposed to change how banks and consumers approach debit cards.

The innovative idea of this card is: It can be linked to any bank account and used for purchases and ATM withdrawals. Most importantly, this kind of new card will give you rewards for using it to make purchases. The new Capital One MasterCard debit card will offer rewards nearly as generous as those consumers can get from their credit cards. There are two types of rewards: points, miles or cash back. Of course, there will be no fees associated with this card from CapitalOne unless the bank imposes its own fees.

According to the industry experts, this new debit card will be two to five times superior to the rewards you get with any other debit cards.

Only 20% of debit-card spending was on rewards debit cards in 2006, according to Aite Group. However, 84% of credit-card purchases will be placed on rewards credit cards as estimated by Aite Group (an industry research company). We might expect that this new debit card will bring more new debit card users. Especially for those can’t get a credit card.

Basics of Capital One MasterCard Debit Card

This card can be linked to any existing checking account and used for purchase and ATM withdrawals. You can select which bank account the card should pull money from, and you can change your selection as your needs evolve. This is great!

No fees associated with this card from Capital One unless the bank that manages the checking account imposes its own fees.

If the card is stolen or fraudulently used, cardholders should contact Capital One. Capital One will reimburse the fraudulent charges to the linked checking account within a day.

Capital One will offer a variety of co-branded cards issued in partnerships with retailers and card users will earn bonus points for shopping at these retailers; rewards will be redeemable for gift certificates at those retailers. You can also earn rewards as what you can get from credit cards issued by Capital One.