It's a cultural and market network effect thing. A lot of Americans use debit card instead of credit card that can quickly accrue interest charges if not fully

It's a cultural and market network effect thing. A lot of Americans use debit card instead of credit card that can quickly accrue interest charges if not fully paid off every month. But plenty of people carry high interest debt. The average American who carries a balance owes 15000 USD. USA has high adoption of credit card network. In most places, debit cards are only accepted as Visa/MC not the low fee inter-bank network such as PLUS or STAR or NYCE. Then there's consumer credit history/score. Americans like to buy houses (it's de facto subsidized by the government through implicitly government guaranteed 30 year fixed rate loans). A high credit score can mean the difference of tens of thousands of dollars over the term of the mortgage. If you have no credit history, you get the worse possible rate. Housing choice determines school district, and therefore whether your children get a good excellent so-so or bad education. House prices are highly correlated with school quality - public schools are free but you have to be able to afford residency. The worse neighborhoods have shootings at night, rampant drug abuse and gangs, burglary/robbery, lack of jobs/grocery stores/medical service/non-convenience retail. Credit score usage has metastasized into many more facets of life than originally intended. Even if you want to only rent housing, the landlord will check your credit. Good landlords only reject for evictions or out of control debt that suggests you cannot afford rent, but some decide based off score e.g. if your score is below 20th percentile you will not get approved. You cannot get electricity/water/natural gas turned on without a credit check unless you place a large security deposit. Some companies will not hire you if you have bad credit! Those with bad credit have to pay up to double for car insurance. Of course many people like to spend beyond their means. But even responsible people put themselves at a disadvantage by not participating in the credit system.