> I am living in Germany and I stand by my observation that few people have a credit card. That's why I said it's mainly an issue in physical retail due to man

> I am living in Germany and I stand by my observation that few people have a credit card. That's why I said it's mainly an issue in physical retail due to many retailers not wanting to go through the hassle of getting a CC system in addition to their already established SEPA direct debit system, the fees charged by CC companies is another factor as they are much higher, on a per transaction basis than what's being charged by SEPA direct debit [0]. But we are talking online here, and in that context, many people do have PayPal accounts [1], that happened regardless of the massive controversies which surrounded PayPal a couple of years ago. The ven-diagram here is quite easy: People who like shopping internationally online are more versed in online shopping and thus more likely to have a PayPal account exactly for that reason. People who don't shop online as much, or not at all, do not and people who only shop online at domestic companies, make use of the established SEPA systems. > Sofortueberweisung is a security nightmare that nobody should use. Just offer SEPA direct debit. SEPA direct debit can be its own security nightmare issue because you are essentially giving a third party allowance to just charge your account, for whatever amount. It also does not replace the use-case of Sofortüberweisung because Sofortüberweisung allows "instant fulfillment", which SEPA direct debit usually does not. Because SEPA direct debit requires time for processing, time during which no product/service will be delivered. That's where Sofortüberweisung comes in: It allows payment with instant fulfillment because Sofortüberweisung is like the "man in the middle" who confirms the transaction actually took place, allowing for fulfillment before the payment actually arrives at the seller. Note: I'm not saying Sofortüberweisund or PayPal are amazing services, I'm merely pointing out the difference between Germans shopping online and German physical retail because it's the latter that suffers from a lack of CC support. But plenty of Germans are fine taking other, CC-less routes, like PayPal or Sofortüberweisung, to get their online shopping done. In that context, you won't be missing out on a massive customer base due to your lack of SEPA payment options, Germans who want what you sell will have/find an alternative way to pay for it, without using SEPA. [0] https://www.thepaypers.com/expert-opinion/sepa-directdebit-the-true-alternative-to-credit-cards-in-europe/763758 https://www.thepaypers.com/expert-opinion/sepa-directdebit-t... [1] https://www.bundestag.de/blob/434296/5dbc531d88cd738eccbe2e9b8079f1d1/wd-4-059-16-pdf-data.pdf https://www.bundestag.de/blob/434296/5dbc531d88cd738eccbe2e9...