In a lot of places all around the world credit cards always played a minor role. Usually the lack of credit cards in Germany is attributed to being a cash-only

In a lot of places all around the world credit cards always played a minor role. Usually the lack of credit cards in Germany is attributed to being a cash-only country, but I guess it has more to do with wire transfers and direct debit being basically for free. For shopping physically there's also additionally a national direct debit system (called girocard), organized directly by the banks with much lower fees than credit cards.