GK> 04 Jan 20 12:35, David Rance wrote to Michiel van der Vlist:
DR>> Everywhere, except the Netherlands it appears, people use credit DR>> cards most of the time.
GK> Nope, I'd say in Germany they're not that popular, either. I have one, GK> but I only use it few times a year for buying stuff over the internet.
Well, now I reflect on it, although payment by credit card is readily available in the European countries that I've visited, both in the supermarkets and in most of the smaller shops and restaurants, while I'm waiting in the queues at the supermarket checkout I do notice that most people in front of me pay by cheque and some in cash. And payment by cheque always takes ten times as long (literally) as it does by credit card.
DR>> I can use my credit/debit cards without any prior DR>> arrangement in France, in Germany, in Spain, Austria, Belgium, Italy DR>> - and have done so! Why should I have expected the Netherlands to be DR>> different?
GK> Ah, well, in Germany larger companies usually offer credit card GK> payment, but the casual restaurant or cafe doesn't necessarily do so. GK> Debit cards (EC cards) are more popular, but even those aren't GK> accepeted everywhere. You have to ask in advance or take a look at the GK> various stickers about accepted payment methods most shops have at GK> their front doors.
Yes, it was like that in the UK just a few years ago because I can remember having to look for the stickers before I entered the shop. But payment by credit card is practically ubiquitous now. There is only one shop, my local pharmacy, where I have to pay by cash if I spend less than £10 and very few shops will accept cheques now because the banks have done away with cheque guarantee cards. Having to pay cash for small purchases was also true in a DIY shop in Falaise until a year ago, but now they accept all transactions by card, however small.
My credit/debit cards used to have the EC logo on them but they no longer do, not even my French Crédit Agricole card.
GK> Anyway, I'd always try to avoid payment by card if possible. I prefer cash.
I don't like carrying a load of cash around and then I've got the bother of going to a bank to withdraw it. Apart from the banks, the independent holes-in-the-wall (a common term for cash dispensers!) in the UK now charge you for withdrawals. For us, a transaction is quicker and cheaper by card. And it's even quicker if I can use my phone as I don't have to fiddle around with my wallet.
David
-- Formerly ICHTHUS (Reading) UK (1987-2007 R.I.P.) (2:292/854.110)
