I can't remember ever having to wait for an order to be delivered in Germany while they were waiting for the debit to arrive. As opposed to a money transfer tha

I can't remember ever having to wait for an order to be delivered in Germany while they were waiting for the debit to arrive. As opposed to a money transfer that I have to initiate myself. If I remember correctly, the e-commerce systems can check if the account is valid, and as most have overdraft and thus the responsibility for getting the money is transferred to the client's credit institute, there's little risk. Yes, for downloads this can be a hassle, but it's not like this is the only payment option used by people, so it's not a big bother if direct debit isn't offered in this case or you're going through an intermediate solution like e.g. paypal. I think most people would prefer alternative solutions for one-time payments anyway, i.e. if they don't think they'll be a regular customer. Not sure how the recent SEPA regulations will affect this...