Thank you! Actually my question

Thank you! Actually my question is whether the debit card can be used as the credit card? I am in AZ, since I am not going with my parents, I could not pay the fee with my credit card (the french consulate requires to pay the fee on the interview site, not online). My parents have the debit card with "visa" symbol on it, I think it should be OK, but never use it, not 100% sure. 

BTW, does my parents need to input the pin number by using debit card? (I never used debit card before)

Thanks!