> That's the reason they recommended to use a payment gateway that implements all those local payment solutions. For example, in Germany you loose a lot of customers if you don't offer direct debit (ELV) as many don't own a credit card (and don't want to).
I can't imagine wanting to give out my bank details to allow direct debit of my account to every online retailer I do business with. Weird.
Not too different from giving out your credit card number. I can reverse any direct debit online with two clicks and a second-factor authentication. Disputing a credit card transaction here on the other hand requires filling out a form, signing it on paper, sending it via post, and waiting for the response.
US consumer protection laws treat credit and debit cards differently. They favor credit cards. The gap between the two is up to the goodwill of your bank.
I prefer to rely on law than goodwill. I have never had a problem with getting a refund on a credit card charge I claimed was fraud.
I have no idea why people choose to use a debit card over a credit card here.
The thread might be titled "People tend to use the safest (to them) form of payment available". If your credit card laws protect the consumer a lot (like in the US) then you use credit cards. If you have some in-country debit system with better protection you use that instead.
One reason it's so hard to unseat credit cards in the US is because most of the advantages of the alternatives are on the sellers side. The consumer doesn't seen any benefit from switching to Apple Pay or whatever. Most merchant agreements don't even let stores charge less for using non-credit card type payments (although some stores do anyway).
As a US citizen I use my credit cards constantly. It's an instant 1% discount on everything I buy (thanks to the cash back), and its fast and easy. I pay it off every month to avoid paying interest. There's basically no downside to me.
The story would be different if retailers were allowed to directly pass on the service fees however. I would definitely think twice if every time I used it I got surcharged $0.50.
After I make my two clicks for which you have several months time (only needed to do that once) the actual transaction is reversed immediatly. That means even if I notice it three weeks later, the bank pretends the direct debit never happened and is not included in any interest calculation etc.
Well, that was my experience with American Express. I noticed a fraudulent charge, called them up and was done 5 minutes later. Everything was refunded immediately after I hung up. That was the end of it.
OTOH, my Chase experience was not nearly as smooth.
That's the whole point of the thread: If you cater to a global audience you can't assume that what works for you will work for someone on the other side of the planet. Different markets tend to favor different solutions in customer adoption, law, and regulation.
Others have pointed out the consumer protection on the German system is pretty good. The distinction here is that, in the US context at least, it's somebody else's money that is temporarily inaccessible -- you can still withdraw your cash while a credit dispute is taking place.
I can't imagine wanting to give out my bank details to allow direct debit of my account to every online retailer I do business with. Weird.