There is actually a major difference between the majority of German credit cards and, e.g., US credit cards, which fits nicely into your argument: Most German

There is actually a major difference between the majority of German credit cards and, e.g., US credit cards, which fits nicely into your argument: Most German credit cards are "not-revolving",i.e., at the end of the month the amount you spent with your credit card will be withdrawn automatically from your bank account. It is therefore much more like a debit card in concept than a credit card. The only reason why credit cards are more used nowadays in Germany is because of their use in international online shopping (and when renting a car in the US, which is the reason why I had to get one).