4 ms·

That's a very US-centric view. PayPal is an abstraction layer. In Belgium, for example, many people do not use credit cards (although adoption is increasing th

That's a very US-centric view. PayPal is an abstraction layer. In Belgium, for example, many people do not use credit cards (although adoption is increasing thanks to online shopping). It was quite common a few years back to ask if a friend or family member could order something for you if you knew they had a credit card. We use debit for everything (Maestro combined with some Belgian Atos system). PayPal allows many people without credit card to pay via SEPA Direct Debit instead.

martinald 9y ago
Maestro is compatible with MasterCard though so should work anywhere a credit card does? Tbh it's only a handful of EU countries that randomly shun internationally standard debit and credit cards. I was in Turkey recently and everyone was using and accepted CCs. Even tiny coffee shops. No idea why Germany et al can't get it together so people don't have to build these ridiculous integrations. The EU has also capped fees to a very low amount. Makes no sense.
- kogepathic 9y ago
  > Maestro is compatible with MasterCard though so should work anywhere a credit card does? Maestro is MasterCard. [1] But in my experience you cannot use a Maestro everywhere you can use a MasterCard. Most online stores in Germany will use SOFORT or giroPay instead of Maestro. Sixt doesn't permit car rentals with a debit card. > No idea why Germany et al can't get it together so people don't have to build these ridiculous integrations. Several reasons I can think of: 1. You need to be an adult and pass SCHUFA to get a credit card. Minors can pay online with Lastschrift or SOFORT/giroPay from their account. 2. Germans are very debt averse, and when you can buy things online with SOFORT/giroPay or Lastschrift, there are very few things you really need a credit card for (e.g. certain rental car companies like Sixt) 3. Only ~35% of Germans have a credit card, so a business would be foolhardy to exclude 2/3rds of the market by only accepting credit cards. [2] [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maestro_(debit_card) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maestro_(debit_card) [2] https://qz.com/262595/why-germans-pay-cash-for-almost-everything/ https://qz.com/262595/why-germans-pay-cash-for-almost-everyt...
  - Y_Y 9y ago
    Prepaid mastercards solve all of these problems.
    - em500 9y ago
      Prepaid mastercard / visa is not accepted everywhere where non-prepaid is (notably car rentals, hotels).
      - icebraining 9y ago
        Is Paypal accepted in those cases?
    - astura 9y ago
      Prepaid MasterCards are, by in large, not accepted pretty much anywhere online, in my experience anyways. They also have fees, PayPal is free for the buyer.
- Aaargh20318 9y ago
  > Maestro is compatible with MasterCard though so should work anywhere a credit card does? Not for online shopping. My debit card with maestro logo on it can't be used for online CC payments because it's not a credit card and doesn't have any of the details on it that you'd need to fill out for a CC payment.

martinald 9y ago

Maestro is compatible with MasterCard though so should work anywhere a credit card does? Tbh it's only a handful of EU countries that randomly shun internationally standard debit and credit cards. I was in Turkey recently and everyone was using and accepted CCs. Even tiny coffee shops. No idea why Germany et al can't get it together so people don't have to build these ridiculous integrations. The EU has also capped fees to a very low amount. Makes no sense.

kogepathic 9y ago
> Maestro is compatible with MasterCard though so should work anywhere a credit card does? Maestro is MasterCard. [1] But in my experience you cannot use a Maestro everywhere you can use a MasterCard. Most online stores in Germany will use SOFORT or giroPay instead of Maestro. Sixt doesn't permit car rentals with a debit card. > No idea why Germany et al can't get it together so people don't have to build these ridiculous integrations. Several reasons I can think of: 1. You need to be an adult and pass SCHUFA to get a credit card. Minors can pay online with Lastschrift or SOFORT/giroPay from their account. 2. Germans are very debt averse, and when you can buy things online with SOFORT/giroPay or Lastschrift, there are very few things you really need a credit card for (e.g. certain rental car companies like Sixt) 3. Only ~35% of Germans have a credit card, so a business would be foolhardy to exclude 2/3rds of the market by only accepting credit cards. [2] [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maestro_(debit_card) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maestro_(debit_card) [2] https://qz.com/262595/why-germans-pay-cash-for-almost-everything/ https://qz.com/262595/why-germans-pay-cash-for-almost-everyt...
- Y_Y 9y ago
  Prepaid mastercards solve all of these problems.
  - em500 9y ago
    Prepaid mastercard / visa is not accepted everywhere where non-prepaid is (notably car rentals, hotels).
    - icebraining 9y ago
      Is Paypal accepted in those cases?
  - astura 9y ago
    Prepaid MasterCards are, by in large, not accepted pretty much anywhere online, in my experience anyways. They also have fees, PayPal is free for the buyer.
Aaargh20318 9y ago
> Maestro is compatible with MasterCard though so should work anywhere a credit card does? Not for online shopping. My debit card with maestro logo on it can't be used for online CC payments because it's not a credit card and doesn't have any of the details on it that you'd need to fill out for a CC payment.