3 ms·

the credit card is also a party. a significant one in that they do the chargeback. this is why credit cards are not that popular in europe.

jessaustin 5y ago
The only time I've been to Europe was an airport layover, so hopefully you can answer my dumb question: what sort of payment cards are popular in Europe? We periodically see threads on HN in which people who claim to be Europeans chastise Americans for our use of cash and/or checks. I had assumed that was because you thought credit cards were great. That may be wrong, but now I don't want to just assume you think debit cards are great. Maybe there is another sort of payment card?
- Macha 5y ago
  Debit cards are certainly the majority in my country. Banks offer subaccounts for people who reasonably don't want to connect their life savings to their payment card, or new vendors like revolut are popular for similar reasons.
  - freemint 5y ago
    Bunq is another alternative. I use both revolte and bunq
- CRConrad 5y ago
  As others have replied, debit cards. Credit cards, too; I've had at least one or two for over a decade. And have, uh, at least four; more probably five or six, at the moment. Only ever used... Three or four, in total, and I think only ever two in the same year. One form of actual piece-of-plastic physical card that's popular here in Finland is the combination debit-credit card. When I insert it into the checkout payment terminal it first gives me a selection of "Debit / Credit?", then I tap in my PIN, and then it either charges my bank account or my credit card, depending on which I selected in the first step. These same cards work in ATMs, and abroad too. I lifted cash in Turkey ten years ago, I think from Visa (IIRC my bank switched to MasterCard after that). In Sweden, supermarket payment terminals have one or two steps more: you need to confirm the amount, and if you want you can tap in an additional amount and have the cashier hand you cash in stead of going to an ATM. (Can't recall the order for sure; I think confirming the amount came first, before even selecting credit/debit, and the additional withdrawal last.) Never seen the amount confirmation in Finland; I suppose here it's taken for granted that it'll be the same as what the cashier just told you (and what you can see on the customer-facing display of their register, usually right next to the payment terminal). The additional cash withdrawal does exist (or at least did, can't recall when I last saw it) in some shops, but it's rare.
cnorthwood 5y ago
I don't think you can group Europe all as one. For example, in the UK credit cards give "section 75" protection which means it's often better to use a credit card than a debit one. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/section75-protect-your-purchases/ https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/section75-protect-...
- throwaway14356 5y ago
  Right, it is one of the reasons not the only one.
Macha 5y ago
The reason they're not that popular in europe is differing attitudes to short term debt and the fact that the cap on interchange fees prevent many of the rewards schemes that US credit card companies use to incentivise credit card use from being profitable. I don't think chargeback policies are a major influence either way.

jessaustin 5y ago

The only time I've been to Europe was an airport layover, so hopefully you can answer my dumb question: what sort of payment cards are popular in Europe? We periodically see threads on HN in which people who claim to be Europeans chastise Americans for our use of cash and/or checks. I had assumed that was because you thought credit cards were great. That may be wrong, but now I don't want to just assume you think debit cards are great. Maybe there is another sort of payment card?

Macha 5y ago
Debit cards are certainly the majority in my country. Banks offer subaccounts for people who reasonably don't want to connect their life savings to their payment card, or new vendors like revolut are popular for similar reasons.
- freemint 5y ago
  Bunq is another alternative. I use both revolte and bunq
CRConrad 5y ago
As others have replied, debit cards. Credit cards, too; I've had at least one or two for over a decade. And have, uh, at least four; more probably five or six, at the moment. Only ever used... Three or four, in total, and I think only ever two in the same year. One form of actual piece-of-plastic physical card that's popular here in Finland is the combination debit-credit card. When I insert it into the checkout payment terminal it first gives me a selection of "Debit / Credit?", then I tap in my PIN, and then it either charges my bank account or my credit card, depending on which I selected in the first step. These same cards work in ATMs, and abroad too. I lifted cash in Turkey ten years ago, I think from Visa (IIRC my bank switched to MasterCard after that). In Sweden, supermarket payment terminals have one or two steps more: you need to confirm the amount, and if you want you can tap in an additional amount and have the cashier hand you cash in stead of going to an ATM. (Can't recall the order for sure; I think confirming the amount came first, before even selecting credit/debit, and the additional withdrawal last.) Never seen the amount confirmation in Finland; I suppose here it's taken for granted that it'll be the same as what the cashier just told you (and what you can see on the customer-facing display of their register, usually right next to the payment terminal). The additional cash withdrawal does exist (or at least did, can't recall when I last saw it) in some shops, but it's rare.

cnorthwood 5y ago

I don't think you can group Europe all as one. For example, in the UK credit cards give "section 75" protection which means it's often better to use a credit card than a debit one. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/section75-protect-your-purchases/ https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/section75-protect-...

throwaway14356 5y ago
Right, it is one of the reasons not the only one.

Macha 5y ago

The reason they're not that popular in europe is differing attitudes to short term debt and the fact that the cap on interchange fees prevent many of the rewards schemes that US credit card companies use to incentivise credit card use from being profitable. I don't think chargeback policies are a major influence either way.