3 ms·

> credit cards aren't too much of a concept in Europe at all. Yeah, no, that’s just a Germany thing.

jypepin 5y ago
They are not much of a thing in France either.
anyfoo 5y ago
I don't particularly recall it being a thing in France and Italy either, both countries I have strong connections to, although admittedly I have never lived there as an adult, so I may have missed that aspect entirely. It would maybe help if you could elaborate in what European countries you say credit cards are usually used for every day payments?
Tomte 5y ago
And it's a nice ever-perpetuating story from two decades ago. Today we have several mostly-online banks (the largest is DKB with 4.6 million customers) who issue credit cards with which you can get money at the ATM without a fee. If you're using the "usual" EC card, you're paying lots of fees. Consequently, many people in Germany today carry a credit card nowadays, and they use it for paying the groceries, as well. You can pay with credit cards in every supermarket, in every gas station, in almost every restaurant.
- anyfoo 5y ago
  Well I did move away a while ago. Those credit cards, are they actually credit cards, as in they grant you credit that you pay off later? Because I remember a friend visiting me, and his "credit card" was actually a debit card, just using the Visa/Mastercard/whatever system. He did not know the difference until I explained it to him ("why did you think it's called a 'credit card'"...)
  - Tomte 5y ago
    Yes, you've got a credit line and pay off the balance at the end of the month.
runako 5y ago
Anecdotally: in running a B2B SaaS for >10 years, there are two rough generalizations I learned about Europeans (in Europe): 1) They are not in the office in August. 2) They are much less likely to have access to a credit card, even if they run a small business. (European customers were much more likely to pay via PayPal.)
- Hamuko 5y ago
  >European customers were much more likely to pay via PayPal. I have two credit cards and I often pay with PayPal because I just don't want to enter my card details out of sheer laziness.
- gazoakley 5y ago
  PayPal also works well when the merchant doesn’t directly accept Amex
  - runako 5y ago
    #1 - Yes, I have used it that way before. #2 - However, our business accepted AmEx from the beginning. #3 - Europeans are also anecdotally much more unlikely to carry Amex than even other cards. #4 - My generalization comes from directly communicating with our European customers over 10 years. Their concern was not "I would like to pay with $CARD_WE_DONT_SUPPORT" but instead "I do not have access to any credit card."

They are not much of a thing in France either.

I don't particularly recall it being a thing in France and Italy either, both countries I have strong connections to, although admittedly I have never lived there as an adult, so I may have missed that aspect entirely. It would maybe help if you could elaborate in what European countries you say credit cards are usually used for every day payments?

Tomte 5y ago

And it's a nice ever-perpetuating story from two decades ago. Today we have several mostly-online banks (the largest is DKB with 4.6 million customers) who issue credit cards with which you can get money at the ATM without a fee. If you're using the "usual" EC card, you're paying lots of fees. Consequently, many people in Germany today carry a credit card nowadays, and they use it for paying the groceries, as well. You can pay with credit cards in every supermarket, in every gas station, in almost every restaurant.

anyfoo 5y ago
Well I did move away a while ago. Those credit cards, are they actually credit cards, as in they grant you credit that you pay off later? Because I remember a friend visiting me, and his "credit card" was actually a debit card, just using the Visa/Mastercard/whatever system. He did not know the difference until I explained it to him ("why did you think it's called a 'credit card'"...)
- Tomte 5y ago
  Yes, you've got a credit line and pay off the balance at the end of the month.

runako 5y ago

Anecdotally: in running a B2B SaaS for >10 years, there are two rough generalizations I learned about Europeans (in Europe): 1) They are not in the office in August. 2) They are much less likely to have access to a credit card, even if they run a small business. (European customers were much more likely to pay via PayPal.)

Hamuko 5y ago
>European customers were much more likely to pay via PayPal. I have two credit cards and I often pay with PayPal because I just don't want to enter my card details out of sheer laziness.
gazoakley 5y ago
PayPal also works well when the merchant doesn’t directly accept Amex
- runako 5y ago
  #1 - Yes, I have used it that way before. #2 - However, our business accepted AmEx from the beginning. #3 - Europeans are also anecdotally much more unlikely to carry Amex than even other cards. #4 - My generalization comes from directly communicating with our European customers over 10 years. Their concern was not "I would like to pay with $CARD_WE_DONT_SUPPORT" but instead "I do not have access to any credit card."