5 ms·

Europe isn't a country. And we have credit cards here.

dgfitz 1y ago
Wow. Way to flippantly shit on the paragraphs of explanation they gave of their own free time. Europe though, yeah they’re killing it.
- wheybags 1y ago
  Why should anyone appreciate paragraphs of text from someone who thinks Europeans can't use payment cards? What reason would I have to presume the content of said paragraphs is better informed, given they have trivially disprovable rubbish up front?
  - mschuster91 1y ago
    > Why should anyone appreciate paragraphs of text from someone who thinks Europeans can't use payment cards? I'm German, so I'm basing my statement on almost 34 years of living here. In case you want some more details from an actual bank, read this [1]. Basically, we don't need credit cards, not even for renting cars, because we have robust regulation and our own national cashless payment schemes plus SEPA. Direct debit is just fine for us. [1] https://n26.com/en-de/blog/taboo-of-credit https://n26.com/en-de/blog/taboo-of-credit
  - frm88 1y ago
    You might want to have a look at the usage stats of payment cards (here specifically credit cards) globally. You would realise that usage is low in Europe, compared to the US. https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/people_with_credit_cards/ https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/people_with_credit.... Most payments are done with regular banking and/or bank specific cards. The latter are not accepted by online platforms, the former has indeed transfer fees in many countries. The grandparents explanations are valid.
    - shrx 1y ago
      "Bank specific cards" are actually debit cards. As an EU-based end user I see basically no practical difference between the two (I have both a MasterCard credit card and a Visa debit card), except that many US-based online stores' payment processors refuse to work with a debit card.
      - mschuster91 1y ago
        > "Bank specific cards" are actually debit cards. Yes, but not necessarily MasterCard/Visa debit cards. Germany's Girocard for example is a national debit card scheme that does not use any of the American grifters. Unfortunately, it's being phased out in favor of MC/Visa because the EU fee cap on national schemes is much lower than for MC/Visa and so banks can make more money off of you. We're just standing by and watch our dependence on American grifter megacompanies larger every day.
        account42 1y ago
        I literally do not know anyone without an EMV-based payment method, usually Visa or MasterCard. I have also never used the Girocard my bank provides in addition to the Visa debit- (and in the past actual credit-) card. I also see more people paying with their phone/smartwatch than any physical card these days.
      - account42 1y ago
        > except that many US-based online stores' payment processors refuse to work with a debit card I have never encountered even that. My debit card also works great for in-person payments in the US, with the only exception perhaps being rentals.
    - UnreachableCode 1y ago
      >The latter are not accepted by online platforms This is not true.
      - mschuster91 1y ago
- UnreachableCode 1y ago
  >Way to flippantly shit on o_O

Wow. Way to flippantly shit on the paragraphs of explanation they gave of their own free time. Europe though, yeah they’re killing it.

wheybags 1y ago
Why should anyone appreciate paragraphs of text from someone who thinks Europeans can't use payment cards? What reason would I have to presume the content of said paragraphs is better informed, given they have trivially disprovable rubbish up front?
- mschuster91 1y ago
  > Why should anyone appreciate paragraphs of text from someone who thinks Europeans can't use payment cards? I'm German, so I'm basing my statement on almost 34 years of living here. In case you want some more details from an actual bank, read this [1]. Basically, we don't need credit cards, not even for renting cars, because we have robust regulation and our own national cashless payment schemes plus SEPA. Direct debit is just fine for us. [1] https://n26.com/en-de/blog/taboo-of-credit https://n26.com/en-de/blog/taboo-of-credit
- frm88 1y ago
  You might want to have a look at the usage stats of payment cards (here specifically credit cards) globally. You would realise that usage is low in Europe, compared to the US. https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/people_with_credit_cards/ https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/people_with_credit.... Most payments are done with regular banking and/or bank specific cards. The latter are not accepted by online platforms, the former has indeed transfer fees in many countries. The grandparents explanations are valid.
  - shrx 1y ago
    "Bank specific cards" are actually debit cards. As an EU-based end user I see basically no practical difference between the two (I have both a MasterCard credit card and a Visa debit card), except that many US-based online stores' payment processors refuse to work with a debit card.
    - mschuster91 1y ago
      > "Bank specific cards" are actually debit cards. Yes, but not necessarily MasterCard/Visa debit cards. Germany's Girocard for example is a national debit card scheme that does not use any of the American grifters. Unfortunately, it's being phased out in favor of MC/Visa because the EU fee cap on national schemes is much lower than for MC/Visa and so banks can make more money off of you. We're just standing by and watch our dependence on American grifter megacompanies larger every day.
      - account42 1y ago
        I literally do not know anyone without an EMV-based payment method, usually Visa or MasterCard. I have also never used the Girocard my bank provides in addition to the Visa debit- (and in the past actual credit-) card. I also see more people paying with their phone/smartwatch than any physical card these days.
    - account42 1y ago
      > except that many US-based online stores' payment processors refuse to work with a debit card I have never encountered even that. My debit card also works great for in-person payments in the US, with the only exception perhaps being rentals.
  - UnreachableCode 1y ago
    >The latter are not accepted by online platforms This is not true.
    - mschuster91 1y ago
UnreachableCode 1y ago
>Way to flippantly shit on o_O