In reply to jill anne.

By "scheme" debit card, then I presume you mean the likes of a the "DEBIT MasterCard" which is not a credit card. To make a "debit" payment via a credit card, if such are enabled, requires that an EMV card be inserted, "debit" selected, and a PIN entered.

The difference between a "debit" transaction via a credit card and a DEBIT MasterCard transaction is the fee the merchant pays: "debit" transaction via a credit card + PIN, nominal fee; via a DEBIT MasterCard, the merchant pays the same percentage+ fee as a "credit" transaction.

Then, why would anyone not use a separate "credit" account to keep all their minor purchases from cluttering up their regular bank "debit" account statement, and receive a monthly credit card statement that they can keep an eye on?

I would also question your assertion that "About half of Australians use contactless payments with SCHEME DEBIT CARDS"; I doubt it is anything like that fraction …