It's a predictable formula: the initial hesitation as the tearful cardholder, scissors in hand, confronts the emptiness of life without a "flexible friend"; then the flood of relief, and more tears, as blade slices through plastic, finally ridding the cardholder of the monkey on his or her back.

The scene may have lost some of its punch through overuse but, with the Christmas spending frenzy about to kick off, it will still strike a cord with anyone sober enough to foresee the debt hangover that will follow in the New Year.

According to latest Central Bank statistics, credit card debt was hovering just under 2.5bn by the end of August.

Based on past experience, there is every reason to believe that this will have nudged a lot closer to 3bn by the time the shops pull down the shutters on Christmas Eve.

It's tempting to take action now, disarming your credit card before it causes any more damage by slicing it in two. But living without Visa or MasterCard in your wallet is easier said than done. Of course, the Laser debit card is a useful substitute and, unlike credit cards, Laser does not lure you into the trap of spending money you have not got.

But have you ever tried using Laser to shop online or outside the country? It's possible, at least in theory, if the card happens to carry the Maestro logo.

But there's every chance you will be left red-faced, holding a worthless piece of plastic that nobody wants to accept.

That's why Bank of Scotland's new debit cards are so welcome. They will look and feel exactly like any other Visa card and, crucially, they will be accepted by any of the 20m merchants displaying the Visa sign throughout the world.

The difference is that they will work as debit cards, with transactions hitting your current account within days. So if you don't have the money, you can't make the purchase, you can't get into debt and you won't be crippled by rip-off rates of interest.

Bank of Scotland says its Visa debit cards will be available early next year, as soon as its longpromised current account is up and running. It says it picked Visa over Laser to allow customers use their debit cards while abroad.

But isn't it also a clever marketing move, aimed at poaching customers of other banks who like the flexibility of a Visa card but who can't trust themselves not to run up huge debts they cannot pay? Apparently not, according to the bank's official line.

But perhaps this has something to do with Bank of Scotland's separate ambitions to become a player in the credit card market. After all, how can you claim to offer a Visa card without the debt penalty when you are also selling a Visa credit credit that needs to be handled with just as much care as every other credit card?

By breaking ranks with its local rivals, Bank of Scotland has rewritten the rules of the card game along lines that are taken for granted in other countries. In Europe and America, consumers get to choose whether their Visa cards work as debit or credit cards.

In Ireland, for now at least, there is no choice. If you want a debit card, it has to be a Laser card that is of little or no value outside the country. If you want a Visa card, you have to be disciplined enough not to be seduced by the easy credit that comes with it.

Thankfully, this is about to change. Pass the scissors.