Ways to pay: cash, check, debit card, credit card and mobile payments

Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to D on a club's choice of card (cards A and B are summaries; cards C and D are made up). Card A, "Credit card loss rule". Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, read November 2026. Summary in our words, not a quotation: If a lost credit card is reported before anyone uses it, the cardholder owes $0. If it is used before it is reported, the cardholder owes at most $50. If only the card number was stolen, the cardholder generally owes $0. Card B, "Debit card loss rule". Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, read November 2026. Summary in our words, not a quotation: If a lost debit card is reported within 2 business days of learning of the loss, the cardholder owes the lesser of $50 or the amount taken. After 2 business days the cardholder can owe up to $500. If a charge on a statement goes unreported for 60 days, more than $500 can be lost. Card C, "Treasurer's memo (made up)". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Our club will use one debit card for every purchase. It spends only money we have, so we can never fall into debt, and a lost card has the same $50 limit as any other card. Card D, "A stolen card (made up)". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: A different club's debit card was stolen from a bag. Thieves took $1,200 from its checking account over 6 business days. The club noticed on business day 3 and reported on business day 8. Its $900 rent check bounced on day 5.

2. 1.

   Bo must answer the memo on card C using cards A, B and D. Which is the strongest objection?

   • A debit card is not capped at $50; card B lets a late report cost up to $500
   • A debit card can add ATM fees that a credit card does not, so credit is cheaper to use
   • A credit card costs $50 even if the number alone is stolen, so the cards are equal
   • A debit card has no cap, so the whole checking balance is at risk in each case
3. 2.

   A student says card D shows the debit card's protection failed. Pia tests the claim. What is the best verdict?

   • Partly: card B caps the club at $500, but $1,200 left checking and a check bounced
   • Shown: the club lost the full $1,200 under card B, since the report came late
   • Shown: debit cards cause bounced rent checks, as card D's club found out the hard way
   • Wrong: a $500 cap means the club was not harmed, because the bank covers the rest of it
4. 3.

   Tala looks for evidence that would most challenge the memo's claim that debit prevents debt. What is missing?

   • The interest rate on credit cards at other banks, to compare with debit's lack of interest
   • How much one more club lost in a theft, to add a second case beside card D
   • How many clubs in town own debit cards, to show how widely the memo's advice would apply
   • How often debit-card clubs ran short of cash after thefts or fees, versus credit clubs

5. Use this

   Cards A to D on how the Federal Reserve counts payments (card A is real data; cards B and C are made up). Card A, "Noncash payments, 2024". Who made it: the Federal Reserve (federalreserve.gov), read November 14, 2026. Table, columns Type | Payments (billions) | Value ($ trillions) | Average payment ($): checks | 9.2 | 24.45 | 2,653; all cards | 187.7 | 11.50 | 61; automated clearinghouse (ACH) transfers | 39.7 | 104.06 | 2,622; all noncash payments | 236.6 | 140.01 | 592. Note: the Fed counts payments by consumers and businesses; ACH is the network behind direct deposit and bill pay. Card B, "Headline (made up)". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Checks have all but disappeared: they are 4 percent of payments. Card C, "A bank's statement (made up)". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Half the payments our business customers send us to process are checks.

6. 4.

   Jun tests the headline on card B against card A. What is the best verdict?

   • Accurate: checks are 4 percent of payments because few people trust them, so value is low too
   • Accurate: 4 percent of payments means 4 percent of the money moved, 5.6 of 140.01 trillion
   • Wrong: checks are 17 percent of payments, as 24.45 of 140.01 trillion would show
   • Misleading: 4 percent of payments, but 17 percent of value (24.45 of 140.01 trillion)
7. 5.

   A student says ACH matters less than cards, since ACH has 39.7 billion payments and cards 187.7 billion. What is Luz's strongest objection?

   • ACH payments cost less to process than card payments, so ACH matters less than cards do
   • ACH has a higher average payment, $2,622 against $61, so each payment is much larger
   • Counts hide size: ACH moved $104.06 trillion, about 9 times what all cards moved
   • Cards have the smaller average payment, so cards must move more dollars in total
8. 6.

   Noah wants to test whether checks are used mostly by businesses. Which missing figure would help most?

   • The average card payment in 2021, to compare with the average check size this year
   • Checks and their values split by who writes them: consumers, businesses or governments
   • ACH payments split by type of payment, to see which kind carries the most dollars
   • Checks written each year since 2015, to show whether the decline began much earlier on

9. Use this

   Cards A to C on moving a card balance (all made up). Card A, "Transfer offer (made up)". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: A new card charges 0 percent interest for 12 months on a balance moved to it. It adds a one-time fee of 3 percent of the amount moved to the balance. After 12 months, any balance left is charged 24 percent a year. Card B, "The club's old card (made up)". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The old card charges 24 percent a year. Each month's interest is 2 percent of the balance at the start of the month. A payment at the end of the month pays that month's interest first. Card C, "The club's plan (made up)". Who made it: written for this sheet. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The club owes $1,000 and can pay $100 at the end of each month. On the old card, the balance is paid off after 12 payments and the interest adds up to $127.03. The club has no other debts.

10. 7.

    Kira compares the offer with staying put using cards A to C. Which statement is right?

    • Moving saves the full $127.03, since the new card charges 0 percent for the 12 months
    • Moving saves nothing, since both cards charge 24 percent a year after the first year
    • Moving costs $30 in fees against $127.03 in interest, a saving of about $97
    • Moving costs more, because a 3 percent fee is more than the interest on the old card
11. 8.

    A friend says a 0 percent offer is free money. Zee tests the claim. What is the best verdict?

    • False: the old card's interest costs less than the offer's one-time $30 fee
    • True: 0 percent for 12 months means the club pays nothing extra, so the fee is not a cost
    • True for the fee alone, because the 24 percent rate does not apply to this club
    • Not free: it costs a 3 percent fee, and a balance left after 12 months is charged 24 percent
12. 9.

    A treasurer says moving the balance saves about $97. What is Ari's strongest objection from cards A to C?

    • The new card should be compared at 2 percent, not 24 percent a year, to be fair to it
    • The old card's interest was already counted, so the saving is the full $127.03 on the old card
    • The saving assumes $100 paid each month; a balance left after 12 months is charged 24 percent
    • A 3 percent fee costs more than the interest it saves, so the move loses money
13. 10.

    Before the club moves its balance, Milo asks what is missing. Which fact would matter most?

    • Whether the old card gives a reward on purchases, which the offer might not
    • Whether the club's income will really cover $100 each month for 12 months
    • Whether other clubs also have a $1,000 balance on a card with a 24 percent rate
    • How the old card's interest was counted, since 2 percent a month is not 24 percent