Forget Google, time to end the Visa-MasterCard duopoly

Post by mcv » Tue, Jun 30, 2020, 7:13 AM UTC

Galanwe wrote: post #226

reaperducer wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Outside of major international hotel chains, or where you can do your purchase online through Paypal, you may as well not bother asking if they accept it. It's very interesting to hear that. When I first started traveling to Europe, having an American Express card (or even better, AmEx travelers checks) was the best way for an American to pay for things. It's even written into some classic books and movies. My how th…

I don't think American Express card have ever been a practical way of paying for things in Europe. I would guess 90% of Europeans have never even seen one of these cards, unless they work in international hotels or tourist places.

Post by imtringued » Tue, Jun 30, 2020, 7:19 AM UTC

SenoraRaton wrote: post #269

gruez wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> credit transactions tend to be 20%+ higher ticket sizes than cash purchases. In a way, the credit card surcharge baked in is something of a volume purchasing incentive Funny you mention that, because that’s yet another case where it’s expensive to be poor. If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, barely making ends meet, you likely don’t have the cash flow to stock up on a sale. So rather than buying 18 months worth…

“The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boot…

Post by rswail » Tue, Jun 30, 2020, 7:20 AM UTC

cynix wrote: post #120

jariel wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The 2% cashback has to come from somewhere." Yes, but in reality, the program comes from an upside down approach to overcoming the obviously anti-competitive practices that VISA/MC use to forbid retailers from offering discounts for not using VISA etc.. You can't say "Get 2% if you use cash instead of VISA". (Notice that nobody ever advertises that?) Because VISA doesn't allow it. You also can't say "$1.99 + 20 cent…

> You can't say "Get 2% if you use cash instead of VISA". (Notice that nobody ever advertises that?) Because VISA doesn't allow it. > You also can't say "$1.99 + 20 cents processing charge" - no, the price must be listed including charges. (Notice that nobody every does this?) We see these a lot in Australia. I wish they'd enforce the same pricing here for cash and card — I don't like to carry cash around, and I hate…

Post by vertex-four » Tue, Jun 30, 2020, 7:22 AM UTC

Symbiote wrote: post #341

jsumrall wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s accepted in a lot of places here in NL. I have a Dutch amex. Aldi, Jumbo, Hema, all accept it. https://www.americanexpress.com/nl/voordelen/shopping/

That AmEx have a website listing where the card can be used shows it is far less-accepted than Visa or MasterCard. I'm not surprised supermarkets accept it. Does your local pizza takeaway, kiosk or bar accept it?

Post by baxtr » Tue, Jun 30, 2020, 7:29 AM UTC

Symbiote wrote: post #336

ivan_gammel wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Germany is cash-based because of consumer behavior, not because costs are somehow lower. With corona, e-Commerce and services like SumUp more widespread Germany will inevitably catch up with other countries.

In Denmark, the majority of shops have little signs "Due to Covid-19, please pay by card or phone" or sometime "Due to Covid-19, cash is not accepted". On a recent trip to Germany, I didn't see a single such sign. Germany is changing gradually, perhaps due to the EU's limits on the fees Visa and MasterCard can change, but Covid-19 doesn't seem to have much effect.