4 ms·

Where are your customers in the world? Many non-US countries have little/no credit card presence, so if you don't have an international-friendly payment option

Where are your customers in the world? Many non-US countries have little/no credit card presence, so if you don't have an international-friendly payment option like PayPal your customers may be using "gift card credit cards" purchased from a store. It's easier to do this once a year than once a month. Ultimately though, talk to your users! That's how you'll find out.

skinnymuch 5y ago
Those gift card credit cards don’t have the first year free of service fees? I think In the US they do, but no idea how the market is world wide.
traceroute66 5y ago
> Many non-US countries have little/no credit card presence Was that statement accidental horrible wording or did you actually mean it ? If the latter, then you must be one of those many Americans that needs to travel more. The rest of the world are not neanderthals who've never heard of credit cards. Go to Kenya (Africa) and the only reason you might struggle to pay by credit card is if the merchant has decided to prefer payments via the M-PESA money transfer phone app instead which is what most of the locals use. So you could say a number of non-US countries are even ahead of the US ! But of course I hope your wording was accidental, in which case I apologise for the three paragraphs above. ;-)
- r3drock 5y ago
  In Germany for example, a lot of people have no credit card.
- JohnBooty 5y ago
  We should always be on guard against such things, but is parent's statement really bad? It didn't imply that other countries are backwards, or that their people are "neanderthals who've never heard of credit cards." It's a fact that credit cards simply aren't equally popular in all parts of the world and naturally this is something that must be taken into account. This includes places that are arguably more advanced than the US. Of which there are many many many many.
- NikolaNovak 5y ago
  Dunno, in a lot of europe, though credit cards are readily available, most of my family (I have relatives in Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia) doesn't have or want them. They have forms of payment which are strange to me but basically are some form of bank debit card, accepted everywhere. Or fancy phone / app payment methods we can only dream of here. I didn't read the OP as necessarily implying technical or cultural superiority; credit cards are big in US and may or may not be big somewhere else, as you point out as well, so I felt the quoted statement is quite plainly factual rather than layered with hidden or interpreted meanings...
  - Graffur 5y ago
    How do you know what cards your relatives in other countries have?
    - NikolaNovak 5y ago
      I mean, if genuine question, how do you know anything about your family? :) You talk, you notice when you go shopping together, etc :)
      - Graffur 5y ago
        Of course it's a genuine question. I am calling you out. You don't know what cards they have. You have gone shopping with your relatives in 5 different countries within the last year? You know that they haven't gotten new cards or changed their habits since you last saw them? You don't talk about credit cards that often. :) You make an assumption because of some info at some point in time and think of it as a constant fact. :) For example, I know my brother had a credit card. Does he still have it? I would have to call him and ask him. :)
  - hurflmurfl 5y ago
    When a form on a web-site says CC (Credit Card) I can always pay with my debit card. (Unless you're talking about another sort of debit card that isn't what I call a debit card - "a MasterCard/Visa/etc with no overdraft). To me it seems like some people use the term "credit card" for any bank card, while some actually mean the "credit" part. While "credit" (non-debit) cards don't seem to be THAT popular in the European part of the world, I think that bank cards are pretty much ubiquitous.
- ComodoHacker 5y ago
  >which is what most of the locals use That's the point GP is making. It's not that people can't use credit cards, just don't have one available at the moment they are ready to pay for your product.
- AdrianB1 5y ago
  Availability and usage is not the same. In Europe credit cards are widely available, but in some countries they are not used for various reasons, it can be cultural (ex: Germany) or bad conditions from the banks (ex: Romania).
- watwut 5y ago
  I am in EU and around me people use credit cards only if America requires it for some reason. I don't even own it.
- nikisweeting 5y ago
  Credit cards are still pretty difficult to get in Colombia and some other countries in South America. You can get them, but you need a long relationship with your bank, and the process is expensive and time consuming for not very much cash back, so most people don't get them.
gpas 5y ago
EU here. Credit cards are just a way to pay online. There are countless debit cards and every bank account comes with a card issued in partnership with a international service like VISA or Mastercard to enable online payments and money withdrawal at foreign ATMs.

skinnymuch 5y ago

Those gift card credit cards don’t have the first year free of service fees? I think In the US they do, but no idea how the market is world wide.

traceroute66 5y ago

> Many non-US countries have little/no credit card presence Was that statement accidental horrible wording or did you actually mean it ? If the latter, then you must be one of those many Americans that needs to travel more. The rest of the world are not neanderthals who've never heard of credit cards. Go to Kenya (Africa) and the only reason you might struggle to pay by credit card is if the merchant has decided to prefer payments via the M-PESA money transfer phone app instead which is what most of the locals use. So you could say a number of non-US countries are even ahead of the US ! But of course I hope your wording was accidental, in which case I apologise for the three paragraphs above. ;-)

r3drock 5y ago
In Germany for example, a lot of people have no credit card.
JohnBooty 5y ago
We should always be on guard against such things, but is parent's statement really bad? It didn't imply that other countries are backwards, or that their people are "neanderthals who've never heard of credit cards." It's a fact that credit cards simply aren't equally popular in all parts of the world and naturally this is something that must be taken into account. This includes places that are arguably more advanced than the US. Of which there are many many many many.
NikolaNovak 5y ago
Dunno, in a lot of europe, though credit cards are readily available, most of my family (I have relatives in Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia) doesn't have or want them. They have forms of payment which are strange to me but basically are some form of bank debit card, accepted everywhere. Or fancy phone / app payment methods we can only dream of here. I didn't read the OP as necessarily implying technical or cultural superiority; credit cards are big in US and may or may not be big somewhere else, as you point out as well, so I felt the quoted statement is quite plainly factual rather than layered with hidden or interpreted meanings...
- Graffur 5y ago
  How do you know what cards your relatives in other countries have?
  - NikolaNovak 5y ago
    I mean, if genuine question, how do you know anything about your family? :) You talk, you notice when you go shopping together, etc :)
    - Graffur 5y ago
      Of course it's a genuine question. I am calling you out. You don't know what cards they have. You have gone shopping with your relatives in 5 different countries within the last year? You know that they haven't gotten new cards or changed their habits since you last saw them? You don't talk about credit cards that often. :) You make an assumption because of some info at some point in time and think of it as a constant fact. :) For example, I know my brother had a credit card. Does he still have it? I would have to call him and ask him. :)
- hurflmurfl 5y ago
  When a form on a web-site says CC (Credit Card) I can always pay with my debit card. (Unless you're talking about another sort of debit card that isn't what I call a debit card - "a MasterCard/Visa/etc with no overdraft). To me it seems like some people use the term "credit card" for any bank card, while some actually mean the "credit" part. While "credit" (non-debit) cards don't seem to be THAT popular in the European part of the world, I think that bank cards are pretty much ubiquitous.
ComodoHacker 5y ago
>which is what most of the locals use That's the point GP is making. It's not that people can't use credit cards, just don't have one available at the moment they are ready to pay for your product.
AdrianB1 5y ago
Availability and usage is not the same. In Europe credit cards are widely available, but in some countries they are not used for various reasons, it can be cultural (ex: Germany) or bad conditions from the banks (ex: Romania).
watwut 5y ago
I am in EU and around me people use credit cards only if America requires it for some reason. I don't even own it.
nikisweeting 5y ago
Credit cards are still pretty difficult to get in Colombia and some other countries in South America. You can get them, but you need a long relationship with your bank, and the process is expensive and time consuming for not very much cash back, so most people don't get them.

gpas 5y ago

EU here. Credit cards are just a way to pay online. There are countless debit cards and every bank account comes with a card issued in partnership with a international service like VISA or Mastercard to enable online payments and money withdrawal at foreign ATMs.