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Digital euro clears key hurdle as EU seeks to break free from U.S. credit cards

finance.yahoo.com

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Re: Digital euro clears key hurdle as EU seeks to break free from U.S. credit cards

#21

Post by Sayrus »

FooBarWidget wrote: post #7

??? Doesn't Europe already have Wero (iDEAL in Netherlands)? That's a system for making online payments. Money gets directly debited from your bank account. I've always found credit cards stupid. You just want to pay for something, and then suddenly you have a debt. You shouldn't be in debt when you can clearly pay with money you have. Credit card companies advertise with "super easy payments" and "buy now pay later"…

At least in France, most of what people call "credit cards" are actually debit cards.

Re: Digital euro clears key hurdle as EU seeks to break free from U.S. credit cards

#22

Post by fransje26 »

BadBadJellyBean wrote: post #6

I hope that they don't fall into the same trap that a lot of EU projects fall in to: only solving one problem. My VISA card is not only a convenient payment method, it also forces ATM operators to give me cash without any extra fees. In Germany the EC card used to be THE way of paying with a card but you had to go to the ATMs of your bank, otherwise there would be sometimes pretty ridiculous fees. The kicker was that…

> My VISA card is not only a convenient payment method, it also forces ATM operators to give me cash without any extra fees.

And that has absolutely nothing to do with Visa, but everything to do with your local banks.

Re: Digital euro clears key hurdle as EU seeks to break free from U.S. credit cards

#23

Post by freediddy »

How does digital euro replace credit cards? That's basically the same as direct debit. It doesn't address the reason why I use credit cards.

I use credit cards as a proxy for my bank accounts. I know that my issuing bank will protect me from all fraud so I don't have to worry about losing money if I buy something from a fraudulent merchant. I also know I can do things like chargebacks if I have to.

None of this is addressed by digital currency, it's basically like using cash which is haphazard today when there are so many scams everywhere around the world.

Re: Digital euro clears key hurdle as EU seeks to break free from U.S. credit cards

#24

Post by xxpor »

FooBarWidget wrote: post #7

??? Doesn't Europe already have Wero (iDEAL in Netherlands)? That's a system for making online payments. Money gets directly debited from your bank account. I've always found credit cards stupid. You just want to pay for something, and then suddenly you have a debt. You shouldn't be in debt when you can clearly pay with money you have. Credit card companies advertise with "super easy payments" and "buy now pay later"…

Europeans being so scared of debt is so funny. Just pay off your card every month.

The liability model is completely different in the US from Europe w.r.t. merchant vs bank.

The interchange fees are much much higher in the US, which is what pays for the rewards. Europe has an artificial cap.

Re: Digital euro clears key hurdle as EU seeks to break free from U.S. credit cards

#25

Post by yreg »

petcat wrote: post #18
basisword wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A vast majority of card transactions in the EU are done via debit card. Credit card accounts for only around 25% vs debit. And the only place I've swiped my card was once, in the US, about 15 years ago.

> Credit card accounts for only around 25% If this is true then what will this new "digital Euro" change about the reliance on US credit cards? It seems that the 25% of people that are swiping US credit cards are doing it for the convenience and benefits of using a credit card. Will this digital euro change that?

They mean reliance on US bank cards.

Re: Digital euro clears key hurdle as EU seeks to break free from U.S. credit cards

#26

Post by toomuchtodo »

freediddy wrote: post #23

How does digital euro replace credit cards? That's basically the same as direct debit. It doesn't address the reason why I use credit cards. I use credit cards as a proxy for my bank accounts. I know that my issuing bank will protect me from all fraud so I don't have to worry about losing money if I buy something from a fraudulent merchant. I also know I can do things like chargebacks if I have to. None of this is ad…

It’s fancy instant payments, which most of the developed world already has. The question is which unnecessary intermediaries do you continue to remove as you refactor legacy financial infra.

Credit card rails are expensive legacy rails, that part of the stack is the target to disrupt in this context. In the context of the digital euro, you can think of it as a demand deposit account backed by the central bank (as most fiat deposit accounts are in some way) that is portable between banks, like you’d move a US investment account that can hold securities between brokers with ACATS at the clearinghouse.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48415854 (recent subthread with some related context)

Global instant payment system map: https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/PYMNTS-Rea... [pdf]

Re: Digital euro clears key hurdle as EU seeks to break free from U.S. credit cards

#27

Post by Sayrus »

BadBadJellyBean wrote: post #15
nemomarx wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does your visa card do to force them to not charge fees? I still see atm fees over here in the us, so it can't just be being visa. I would guess some regulation but you could get that applied to the digital euro too probably?

I don't know how but AFAIK VISA has a contract clause that prohibits the issuing bank from charging their customers fees for using other ATMs.

I've seen VISA cards with several banks in France where there is commission after 1 to 3 monthly ATM so I'd be doubtful about VISA having such as requirement.

Re: Digital euro clears key hurdle as EU seeks to break free from U.S. credit cards

#28

Post by stackghost »

This is interesting and poignant less because of the digital currency aspect and more because of the geopolitics. In a world where technology touches everything, tech itself becomes political.

The boulder that is de-Americanization has rolled too far downhill now and gained too much momentum; it can no longer be stopped.

The two thirds of Americans who either voted for Trump or couldn't be bothered to vote against him because they aReN't PoLiTiCaL are going to have to come to terms with their new place in the world one way or another. The US is no longer seen as a stable military partner[0], nor a stable economic partner as evidenced by TFA. It's easy to blame Trump but he is merely a symptom of the root cause, which is the attitudes shared by a huge number of Americans.

America will cease to be (and in some cases already has ceased to be) the world's epicenter of geopolitical soft power, scientific innovation, and financial clout. Treaties to which the US is a signatory are not worth the paper they're printed on. The foundations have already been laid, and the de-Americanization trend can't be stopped. For a people so accustomed to feeling like a privileged special class of world citizens, I honestly wonder if the American psyche can handle it. Probably we'll see a wave of people who "never supported Trump in the first place", just like tons of Germans were "never Nazis in the first place" once it became socially unpalatable.

So, congrats, I guess. At least you guys got some people with brown skin deported.

[0] https://www.readtheline.ca/p/matt-gurney-we-will-never-fucki...

Re: Digital euro clears key hurdle as EU seeks to break free from U.S. credit cards

#29

Post by Symbiote »

petcat wrote: post #18
basisword wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A vast majority of card transactions in the EU are done via debit card. Credit card accounts for only around 25% vs debit. And the only place I've swiped my card was once, in the US, about 15 years ago.

> Credit card accounts for only around 25% If this is true then what will this new "digital Euro" change about the reliance on US credit cards? It seems that the 25% of people that are swiping US credit cards are doing it for the convenience and benefits of using a credit card. Will this digital euro change that?

The headline is probably written for an American audience, or for brevity.

It should say "Digital euro clears key hurdle as EU seeks to break free from U.S. debit and credit card processors". Most debit cards in the EU are either Visa or Mastercard, although there used to be more local/national systems.

Re: Digital euro clears key hurdle as EU seeks to break free from U.S. credit cards

#30

Post by looperhacks »

BadBadJellyBean wrote: post #15
nemomarx wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does your visa card do to force them to not charge fees? I still see atm fees over here in the us, so it can't just be being visa. I would guess some regulation but you could get that applied to the digital euro too probably?

I don't know how but AFAIK VISA has a contract clause that prohibits the issuing bank from charging their customers fees for using other ATMs.

That doesn't help you if the ATM provider charges you, though?
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