3 ms·

I don't understand this market. In Germany all bank interactions are basically free, you pay nothing (or little) for a bank account, everyone gets one (by law),

by trias 12y ago

I don't understand this market. In Germany all bank interactions are basically free, you pay nothing (or little) for a bank account, everyone gets one (by law), credit cards are free and if you're lucky you also get about 1% of interest on your money. Why do american banks have to charge that much?

iopq 12y ago
They charge this to merchants, not to the users.
- vilmosi 12y ago
  Read the article again
  - iopq 12y ago
    It says retailers, not consumers
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
thesimon 12y ago
If you pay with your EC card (Germany's own debit card system), the merchant pays at least 0,3% with a minimum of 0,08€ for the transaction. The payment is guaranteed and thus similar to US debit cards. The merchant can also use direct debit, which is almost free (0,05€ for fraud prevention), but leaves him open to chargebacks.
adventured 12y ago
I'm in the US and I don't pay anything for my bank accounts, checking or savings. I also don't pay anything for a debit / check card. I never have in fact. It varies by the bank.