4 ms·

> 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 y

> 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 6y ago
In Germany for example, a lot of people have no credit card.
JohnBooty 6y 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 6y 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 6y ago
  How do you know what cards your relatives in other countries have?
  - NikolaNovak 6y 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 6y 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 6y 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.
  - banana_giraffe 6y ago
    For what it's worth, what you have is a Visa Debit (or Mastercard Debit) card, though the branding on them isn't consistent. Debit cards that can't interop with the Visa/Mastercard networks do exist, I have one .. mostly because I'm lazy and haven't asked for a change. Dunno how rare they are, I suspect rare, but I can't find any numbers with a quick search.
ComodoHacker 6y 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 6y 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 6y 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 6y 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.

r3drock 6y ago

In Germany for example, a lot of people have no credit card.

JohnBooty 6y 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 6y 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 6y ago
How do you know what cards your relatives in other countries have?
- NikolaNovak 6y 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 6y 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 6y 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.
- banana_giraffe 6y ago
  For what it's worth, what you have is a Visa Debit (or Mastercard Debit) card, though the branding on them isn't consistent. Debit cards that can't interop with the Visa/Mastercard networks do exist, I have one .. mostly because I'm lazy and haven't asked for a change. Dunno how rare they are, I suspect rare, but I can't find any numbers with a quick search.

ComodoHacker 6y 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 6y 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 6y 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 6y 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.