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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

#281

Post by illiac786 »

freediddy wrote: post #204
illiac786 wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where do you live in Europe? This has simply not been my experience at all in France, Germany, UK, Italy and Spain so far. Online shops most of all don’t take debit at all and bricks and mortar shops will accept credit more often than debit. Again, my experience. And I prefer to pay with debit because I know the shop will pay less fees. I get refused at Starbucks, random shops in train stations, etc.

Unless they have a direct agreement with a credit card company, most payment providers will give one-size-fits-all blended rate about 2.7% per transaction, even if it's debit.

You’re talking about scheme or interchange fees? In any case, it’s much lower. I think only business cards are still an exception in Germany. Interchange fees are capped at .2 or .3% and scheme fees are much smaller.

I use a German bankcard and it will cost less to the merchant, that is the reason credit card were refused for such a long time. Covid broke this, as contactless was preferred and bankcard were not available for payment on smartphones at the time.

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

#282

Post by illiac786 »

verzali wrote: post #222
illiac786 wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where do you live in Europe? This has simply not been my experience at all in France, Germany, UK, Italy and Spain so far. Online shops most of all don’t take debit at all and bricks and mortar shops will accept credit more often than debit. Again, my experience. And I prefer to pay with debit because I know the shop will pay less fees. I get refused at Starbucks, random shops in train stations, etc.

That is not correct. You may be thinking of a prepaid card or something like vpay. Debit cards are accepted practically everywhere.

Do you really pay online, like flight tickets, with your debit card, that works? I try regularly, it never works.

In shops the main issue is that the terminal they use can only read Apple Pay credit cards. If you’re using you’re banking app to pay wirelessly, it may fail to work with some merchants.

It’s not that they don’t want to accept it, the physical card would probably work (I don’t physical cards anymore), but the system is rigged to favor credit cards it seems.

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

#283

Post by margalabargala »

kyriakos wrote: post #279
margalabargala wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a US-ian I feel exactly that way when using a debit card. A credit card, if misused, can run up your balance and then you dispute, and don't pay anything until it's resolved. A debit card, if misused, can drain your account and leave you penniless until it's resolved.

Normally you don't have your savings connected to a debit card.

Maybe you don't.

In the US it's common for much of one's money to be in a checking account, the same one to which your debit card is effective.

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

#284

Post by dingaling »

tialaramex wrote: post #259
tlogan wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Germany is very debit-card oriented (with no interest of switching). The Netherlands seems similar. Eastern Europe and the Balkans are also mostly debit-card oriented, but people seem more open to switching to credit cards (if they can get one - especially the younger generation). Ireland and the U.K. seem much more credit-card oriented than rest of Europe. Turkey is also very CC oriented (kinda strange - was not exp…

The preferential treatment of credit cards for certain transactions influences how they're used in the UK. Suppose in January two people Carol and Dave bought a £250 August flight to Paris from some outfit that didn't do a great job hedging their fuel prices. Carol used her credit card, Dave used his Debit card. UK law says Carol's flight was bought by her bank, after all her bank handed over the money, Carol is on t…

There's no reason Section 75 protections couldn't be extended to debit cards, except that in the mid-1970s banks were lobbying very hard for credit cards to become more legitimised and S75 was the successful result.

The banks took on a little bit of risk and in return unlocked a free money generator.

On the contrary debit cards are revenue-neutral or even loss-making for them

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

#285

Post by FooBarWidget »

dgellow wrote: post #56
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"…

The way I understand it the Digital Euro doesn't compete with Wero. It's a way for the European Central Bank to emit money in digital form. In theory that doesn't require bank accounts, and can support offline transactions. It's a pretty different concept, more like a new form of money. Wero, SEPA, and the digital euro are complementing each others

How is "money in digital form" different from money on your bank account, which is also digital?

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

#286

Post by FooBarWidget »

Dries007 wrote: post #58
xxpor wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Almost all EU credit cards are automatic debit at the end of the month, i.e. carrying over balance is not even possible. You will simply be over-drafted on the linked debit account and charged a fee + steep interest if you spend more then you have. Typically until the overdraft is resolved, no further debit card payments can be made. The only reasons to use a CC in EU are: - online payments where CC is the only accep…

Things like 3D Secure only work if the merchant supports it. I still regularly encounter shops that don't trigger the 3D Secure prompt at all.

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

#287

Post by FooBarWidget »

euio757 wrote: post #65
looperhacks wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think it's primarily about being scared of debt, it's just a weird, unnecessary step in-between. I have a credit-card and even I don't understand why I should prefer it over my debit card

Setting weird rewards/cash back things aside, which is the main incentive for folks to use it over debit card in most places: It's not fully unnecessary step in-between when fraud is involved. If someone hacks you/deceives you and somehow they got $5000 from your debit card, then your bank account is $5000 smaller. That can impact your ability to pay rent, or whatever you needed those $5000 for. If it's via credit ca…

> If someone hacks you

Transactions are protected by 2FA, they have to steal your phone and know your bank password. Whereas with credit cards, you have a single shared secret (number + CVC) with all merchants. Just one merchant needs to leak it.

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

#288

Post by BlueTemplar »

anygivnthursday wrote: post #130
cloudengineer94 wrote: post #64

Reminder to the people reading this thread and overall comments, that in Europe everyone uses Debit Cards instead of Credit Cards. Credit Card in Europe is very much associated with Debt.

Not everyone. We use both and mostly credit card for online payments that we pay off at the end of the month. It has a limit and it is easier deal with potential fraud vs a debit card where your own money goes. But does it matter? All my debit cards are Visa and Mastercard anyway.

My debit card is both MasterCard and CB. And a few months ago I noticed that I could pick either network when paying online.

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

#289

Post by BlueTemplar »

touristtam wrote: post #217
cuvert wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And in Italy many people say Bancomat when they want to pay with the card even if they don't have a card with that circuit anymore.

It used to be the "blue card" in France (Carte Bleu)

That network still exists, and can now even be used preferentially over Visa/MasterCard, in particular when paying online.

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

#290

Post by BlueTemplar »

illiac786 wrote: post #282
verzali wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is not correct. You may be thinking of a prepaid card or something like vpay. Debit cards are accepted practically everywhere.

Do you really pay online, like flight tickets, with your debit card, that works? I try regularly, it never works. In shops the main issue is that the terminal they use can only read Apple Pay credit cards. If you’re using you’re banking app to pay wirelessly, it may fail to work with some merchants. It’s not that they don’t want to accept it, the physical card would probably work (I don’t physical cards anymore), but…

I never had a credit card. I cannot remember having an issue paying with debit cards.
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