Stripe launches German beta

I'm pretty sure that any Visa/MC can be processed at Stripe, regardless of location. Country specific cards, like Diner's Club and others may require extra effort by the processing companies, and sometimes lead to higher costs. But can generally still be processed.

Moral of the story is anyone anywhere can buy something from a US company using Stripe on their credit card.

> It's the 21st century.

So? I am me. Like some web frameworks I am opinionated, and unlike them I am not made of sugar, able to carry luggage, and able to carry cash around.

> I don't want to think about whether I should get 20 or 30 Euro from an ATM, let alone carry 100 Euro in my wallet. In fact, I find you reasoning quite weird: technology exists to make mundane and boring tasks unnecessary.

That's good for you, but I don't have to really think about that much. Of course I always want to have a few tenners in my wallet, no thought required, I just do that when I pass by the bank. I also would have no problem with carrying 100€ in my wallet, since I tend to carry 1000€ worth of stuff in my DSLR bag anyway, which I take anywhere except shopping and places after dark (not because I'm afraid I might get robbed, but because I can't be bothered to carry around a flash/tripod). So another 100€ means nothing, and the real hassle of having your wallet stolen isn't really the cash, it's all the other stuff in it, no?

> In fact, I find you reasoning quite weird: technology exists to make mundane and boring tasks unnecessary.

First off, technology is made by "me" for "me", I don't exist for it. It's not my purpose to give a specific technology a reason to exist - if I don't need it, and neither do others, it can just go shrivel up and die when the reference counter hits zero.

Secondly, wildly varying technology exists for wildly varying reasons: to make live easier for yourself and/or everyone, and to make life harder for yourself and/or others; to exploit people, for escapism, and so on. What "mundane and boring task" do Farmville or heroin make unnecessary? How is it desirable to make the task of, say, mass murder or putting people in internment camps, easier?

Doing simple calculations in my head, or knowing that I'll be making a bigger purchase soonish isn't "boring and mundane" to me, neither is rain or carrying luggage, which I find rather sublime and fun respectively, at least to a degree (heavy rain every day, or weights attached to my shoes, wouldn't be fun).

Do you know the movie "Wall-E"? I could barely stand it for all the kitsch, but that stuff about the fat human blobs zipping around on trays seems slightly relevant. Walking is boring, eating is boring, defecating is boring, washing yourself is boring, taking care of friendships is boring... no wait, all that is in the brain of the beholder, and personally I think life is made up of little things, and the supposedly big things are for the most part just big delusions. Which seems to be confirmed by the fact that most people I see around seem kinda unhappy or hysterical in their happiness, and to never notice things like sparrows or clouds. I pity them, and I fully expect them to consider me "weird", with their digital watches and sneakers with lights in the heels.

> That's because the checkout process in Germany is not optimized for bank card payments.

Which is where I am, and which is also a place built above sea level, so that's where I'll stay :P Truth be told, the Netherlands aren't exactly the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the opposite of hobbitdom. I'm not saying that to be mean or snarky, but because that's what I honestly think. Seeing how this is about the reasons for Germans not using credit cards, and how I am one, here's my opinion, arrogant as it is. To be honest, I expected downvotes instead of upvotes, I think I would deserve them... wouldn't make me change my opinion though. Many people are already quite lame and getting lamer by the month, and like George Carlin I'm over here with this weird mixture of popcorn and hatred.

> Thank god, they have counters these days where they only allow bank cards.

Yeah, thank God for wall-to-wall tracking of every single expense I make, which happens every single time, while negative effects of carrying cash around are rather hypothetical.

Any plans for Latin American countries?

Stripe AU supports AMEX (as well as Visa and MasterCard!), but is currently only for AUD charges. We are actively working on adding USD support, and hope to roll it out soon. Email me @ thairu@stripe.com if you would like a beta invite.

South Africa is on our roadmap, but have no current ETA for when it will be available. Please sign up at https://stripe.com/global to be notified when we launch.