And I thing the misunderstanding here is that Europeans don't really use credit cards: we use the term "credit card" when we should use "debit card", but that's language for you. Literally, you have to go out of your way to get an actual credit card instead of the ubiquitous debit card everybody has.
replyAnd in Europe, when people hear Mastercard or Visa, they just associate the name with refused payments at points of sale depending on the luck they had with the merchant, or the foreign country, etc.
I do agree that in this case, picking MC/VISA is not really important. When I changed banks a few years ago, it so happened that I switched from a Visa to a Mastercard. Nothing changed save for the logo on the card.
I really cannot imagine a world without credit cards. How do you buy Christmas presents, everything in cash? I am half joking.
replyBut that might be one reason why business ideas from the US do not always translate well to Europe, and vice versa.
> In the US, when people hear Mastercard or Visa, they usually associate that with a credit card (virtual or physical), meaning the money is not taken directly from your bank account. You pay the balance later, which gives you credit and strong dispute protections.
replyEuropeans use these dispute protections much less, so Visa/Mastercard are mostly seen as expensive pass-throughs.