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lxgr 4 hours ago

So you're really using credit cards as a proxy for a consumer-friendly (at least with regard to fraud/disputes) payments product.

Credit cards being more consumer friendly than bank transfers is usually an artifact of the concrete implementation, not the abstract concept. In many EU/SEPA countries, returning a direct debit is much easier than a chargeback in the US, for example. In some countries, people even consider credit cards as less secure because filing a chargeback takes marginally longer with most banks (and requires a letter as opposed to a single click in online banking).

If the digital euro is to succeed, it'll of course have to compete with cards on the usability side as well.

megaman821 4 hours ago | parent [-]

It's not just the chargeback process; it is that fraud actually removes money your account potentially causing other payments, like your mortgage, to default. With a credit card you have a month to get things straightened out before a payment is due.

gpvos 4 hours ago | parent [-]

As long as you don't go too far below zero, payments will go through. This may differ a bit per country.

lxgr 3 hours ago | parent [-]

This differs a lot by country and customer. For example, in Germany, without a fixed income, you’ll usually not get access to an overdraft loan.

In the US, overdraft is generally considered a very bad thing (almost worse than the idea of credit to Germans!) and a failure of the accountholder to “balance their (figurative, today) checkbook”, and the idea of an overdraft limit as a line of credit with a defined interest rate does not exist at all.

gpvos an hour ago | parent [-]

Yes, I was highlighting the difference with the US system.

Another difference is that if you know someone's account number, you can send them money but not take any out of their account. I understand it's more or less the other way round in the US.