Don't generalize across Europe based on narrow experience in one or two. It's easy to see there's a huge variance in people with a credit card. Even the 5% rat

Don't generalize across Europe based on narrow experience in one or two. It's easy to see there's a huge variance in people with a credit card. Even the 5% rate in Albania is hardly "incredibly rare": https://www.statista.com/statistics/968220/credit-card-ownership-rate-european-countries/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/968220/credit-card-owner... Picking the lowest EU country on that list (Lithuania, 12%), the first bank I found has a 45 day interest-free credit period, and a 14-17% interest rate if you borrow for longer: https://www.seb.lt/en/private/cards/mastercard-standard https://www.seb.lt/en/private/cards/mastercard-standard