Blame reward cards and a lack of regulation on interchange fees. Stripe charge 1.4% for European cards, but 2.9% for non-European cards. In the UK, a brick-and-

Blame reward cards and a lack of regulation on interchange fees. Stripe charge 1.4% for European cards, but 2.9% for non-European cards. In the UK, a brick-and-mortar retailer with fairly modest volumes can pay as little as 0.35% for debit card transactions; factoring in labour costs, it's often cheaper overall to accept cards than cash.