6 ms·

I live in a 3rd world country too; but they accept my local card (mastercard)

by ekar45 12y ago

ralfn 12y ago
I live in a 1st world country (northern-europe) and nobody i know owns a credit card. Everybody considers them expensive, unsafe and just plain evil. You pay with money you have and you pay a fixed price per month for the service -- no transaction costs. If you want to sell stuff to the world, please support payment gateways that are not evil and as insecure as, well .. a credit card, would actually be the example. Companies smart enough to allow people in nothern-europe to actually pay: Valve, Apple. Companies dumb enough not to: EA, Google. Who is selling online and who is not? Newsflash: If your sales numbers are less in Northern-Europe than they are in the US, it's because you are either actively blocking those customers (region-locks or refusal to ship) or you are not accepting n-european payment gateways. Credit cards are the equivelant of saying 'i only want american customers and everybody else can go to hell'. Let's just hope your bussiness is viable enough in just the US to be this ignorant.
- shiven 12y ago
  Why are credit cards 'evil'? Honest question. I mean they don't go spend themselves, are protected 100% against fraud (in the US at least) and if paid in full every month, cost nothing to the card holder. If anything, it is not a company's fault that Northern Europe has social/cultural hang-ups for a mode of payment!
  - romaniv 12y ago
    Because credit card system is not sustainable without various hidden fees, overdrafts, default rates and so on.
    - middleclick 12y ago
      Is it? I have never paid any hidden fee, or overdrafts. Set a reminder for every fifteen days, pump up the credit card and everything sails smoothly.
      - toast0 12y ago
        Merchant fees are more or less hidden: somewhere between 1% and 5% of your purchase does not go to the merchant.
        kijin 12y ago
        That's the same no matter what method of payment you use. PayPal charges merchant fees. Most banks charge fees for direct debit. Bitcoin has transaction fees. Western Union has transaction fees. Even if you only accept cash, checks, and money orders, it will cost you time and fuel to deposit them at your bank. The percentages might differ, but as long as you let someone else facilitate your transactions, there's no way to avoid paying some sort of fee.
      - pyre 12y ago
        The parent said (emphasis mine): > Because credit card system is not sustainable and you say: > I have never paid [...] and everything sails smoothly. The parent is talking about the system as a whole, while you are talking about your individual usage/experience. Is it not possible that your usage is subsidized by those less financially organized?
    - adventured 12y ago
      You're going to have to actually provide real information to back up such an extreme claim if you want to come across as believable. What is inherent about the credit card system, at even a modest flat rate of 7%, that makes it unsustainable exactly? An examination by logic says that it is very sustainable, banking history says that it is very sustainable. It's absolutely no different in concept than a bank loan or line of credit, so long as the lending agency vets their customers properly based on the ability to pay. If you do that, it's an extraordinarily convenient and useful system. Banks have been making money on 7% loans for centuries. There is absolutely nothing unique about borrowing money on the spot via a credit card based on a previously set credit line.
- recursive 12y ago
  Serious question: Other than a credit card, how can you pay for things online? Paypal? Bitcoin?
  - jiggy2011 12y ago
    Debit card
    - chc 12y ago
      Can't debit cards generally be used as credit cards?
      - jiggy2011 12y ago
        Yes, but without the credit part.
        chc 12y ago
        But I mean, in the context of accepting payments online, debit cards aren't really an alternative to credit cards, are they? The two go hand-in-hand. Merchants that accept credit generally accept debit, so you're fine in that situation if you prefer debit.
      - yen223 12y ago
        Debit cards are the same as credit cards, but without the credit, the protections, or the reward points. As long as you can maintain financial discipline, there's really no reason to be using a debit card.
        chc 12y ago
        A small niggle, because I see a lot of people say this: At least in the US, many banks do extend the same protections to both credit and debit cards. My wife and I both had our debit card info stolen in separate hacks over the past few years, and both times our respective banks just asked us a few questions, credited the money back to our accounts and sent a new card that automatically replaced the old card upon activation.
- wrboyce 12y ago
  > Credit cards are the equivelant of saying 'i only want american customers and everybody else can go to hell'. Let's just hope your bussiness is viable enough in just the US to be this ignorant. In the UK I do as much online shopping as possible on my credit card. I get the added protection of the Consumer Credit Act[1], and prizes![2] [1] http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/section-75-of-the-consumer-credit-act http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/section-75... [2] http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/best-credit-card-rewards http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/best-credit-ca...
- TheOtherHobbes 12y ago
  I also live in Europe and I've had no problem paying Linode with a debit card.
- guiomie 12y ago
  From my experience, getting your money back from a debit card hack is way harder then a credit card. That is why I travel and pay online with my Visa ...
- spurofthemoment 12y ago
  Which country are you in exactly? Because AFAIK, in most Northern European countries people have credit cards (or at least debit cards).

I live in a 3rd world country too; but they accept my local card (mastercard)

by ekar45 12y ago

I live in a 3rd world country too; but they accept my local card (mastercard)

ralfn 12y ago

I live in a 1st world country (northern-europe) and nobody i know owns a credit card. Everybody considers them expensive, unsafe and just plain evil. You pay with money you have and you pay a fixed price per month for the service -- no transaction costs. If you want to sell stuff to the world, please support payment gateways that are not evil and as insecure as, well .. a credit card, would actually be the example. Companies smart enough to allow people in nothern-europe to actually pay: Valve, Apple. Companies dumb enough not to: EA, Google. Who is selling online and who is not? Newsflash: If your sales numbers are less in Northern-Europe than they are in the US, it's because you are either actively blocking those customers (region-locks or refusal to ship) or you are not accepting n-european payment gateways. Credit cards are the equivelant of saying 'i only want american customers and everybody else can go to hell'. Let's just hope your bussiness is viable enough in just the US to be this ignorant.

shiven 12y ago
Why are credit cards 'evil'? Honest question. I mean they don't go spend themselves, are protected 100% against fraud (in the US at least) and if paid in full every month, cost nothing to the card holder. If anything, it is not a company's fault that Northern Europe has social/cultural hang-ups for a mode of payment!
- romaniv 12y ago
  Because credit card system is not sustainable without various hidden fees, overdrafts, default rates and so on.
  - middleclick 12y ago
    Is it? I have never paid any hidden fee, or overdrafts. Set a reminder for every fifteen days, pump up the credit card and everything sails smoothly.
    - toast0 12y ago
      Merchant fees are more or less hidden: somewhere between 1% and 5% of your purchase does not go to the merchant.
      - kijin 12y ago
        That's the same no matter what method of payment you use. PayPal charges merchant fees. Most banks charge fees for direct debit. Bitcoin has transaction fees. Western Union has transaction fees. Even if you only accept cash, checks, and money orders, it will cost you time and fuel to deposit them at your bank. The percentages might differ, but as long as you let someone else facilitate your transactions, there's no way to avoid paying some sort of fee.
    - pyre 12y ago
      The parent said (emphasis mine): > Because credit card system is not sustainable and you say: > I have never paid [...] and everything sails smoothly. The parent is talking about the system as a whole, while you are talking about your individual usage/experience. Is it not possible that your usage is subsidized by those less financially organized?
  - adventured 12y ago
    You're going to have to actually provide real information to back up such an extreme claim if you want to come across as believable. What is inherent about the credit card system, at even a modest flat rate of 7%, that makes it unsustainable exactly? An examination by logic says that it is very sustainable, banking history says that it is very sustainable. It's absolutely no different in concept than a bank loan or line of credit, so long as the lending agency vets their customers properly based on the ability to pay. If you do that, it's an extraordinarily convenient and useful system. Banks have been making money on 7% loans for centuries. There is absolutely nothing unique about borrowing money on the spot via a credit card based on a previously set credit line.
recursive 12y ago
Serious question: Other than a credit card, how can you pay for things online? Paypal? Bitcoin?
- jiggy2011 12y ago
  Debit card
  - chc 12y ago
    Can't debit cards generally be used as credit cards?
    - jiggy2011 12y ago
      Yes, but without the credit part.
      - chc 12y ago
        But I mean, in the context of accepting payments online, debit cards aren't really an alternative to credit cards, are they? The two go hand-in-hand. Merchants that accept credit generally accept debit, so you're fine in that situation if you prefer debit.
    - yen223 12y ago
      Debit cards are the same as credit cards, but without the credit, the protections, or the reward points. As long as you can maintain financial discipline, there's really no reason to be using a debit card.
      - chc 12y ago
        A small niggle, because I see a lot of people say this: At least in the US, many banks do extend the same protections to both credit and debit cards. My wife and I both had our debit card info stolen in separate hacks over the past few years, and both times our respective banks just asked us a few questions, credited the money back to our accounts and sent a new card that automatically replaced the old card upon activation.
wrboyce 12y ago
> Credit cards are the equivelant of saying 'i only want american customers and everybody else can go to hell'. Let's just hope your bussiness is viable enough in just the US to be this ignorant. In the UK I do as much online shopping as possible on my credit card. I get the added protection of the Consumer Credit Act[1], and prizes![2] [1] http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/section-75-of-the-consumer-credit-act http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/section-75... [2] http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/best-credit-card-rewards http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/best-credit-ca...
TheOtherHobbes 12y ago
I also live in Europe and I've had no problem paying Linode with a debit card.
guiomie 12y ago
From my experience, getting your money back from a debit card hack is way harder then a credit card. That is why I travel and pay online with my Visa ...
spurofthemoment 12y ago
Which country are you in exactly? Because AFAIK, in most Northern European countries people have credit cards (or at least debit cards).