Earlier quoted context omitted.
Germany did that too, multiple times and nobody used them. So they all died. The only really successful system was the EC-Card, which for decades was as popular as Credit Cards in other countries. But it will be dead in some months for reasons, probably because it's too old school?
EC cards, when they first came out, were revolutionary and way better than the credit cards of old. Eventually, though they became increasingly unusual, mostly thanks to the internet (no way to pay with them there. They had a hidden creditcard-like number, but you would never know), and are now dying because enough banks have started handing out creditcardesque debit cards which work on the internet. Of course this a…
They were more secure (no surprise there). The lack of security was known, but the risk was with the vendor who generally accepted it as cost of doing business. With the more secure EC cards like with the new-ish chip-enhanced CC, the (lower, remaining) risk is with the customer. Not sure, whether that is 'better'.