In Europe, banks handle these things for you, rather than an intermediary CC provider (although that is possible too). It's a misunderstanding if you thought there is no recourse whatsoever on European debit cards.

There is always recourse, it's just my understanding that it's easier with CC companies. And when you get hit with a charge, it's not immediately hitting your bank account. You can get hit with the charge, dispute it and get it reversed without ever having to pay out of your own pocket.

I think the main difference here is that it's way easier to get a CC charge than a debit charge. Anyone who happens to stumble upon your credit card information can try using it and cause a charge. If you want to cause debit charges you need to know a PIN number and physically have the card (since, afaik, chip&pin hasn't been cracked yet) or you need access to a second factor such as a TAN-code list.

Either system is a valid solution to the problem of fraudulent charges, both have their advantages and disadvantages.

I actually don't have a credit card. I have a debit card and I use it for everything I can. I NEVER have to enter a PIN except at the ATM. Web based transactions wouldn't know if I physically had the card.

The PIN requirement for usage must be a European thing.

> The PIN requirement for usage must be a European thing.

It is. Over here a credit and a debit card work in significantly different ways. In the USA (and probably other countries too) a debit card is just a credit card that's more likely to get declined and gets billed slightly differently. Over here they are entirely different transaction systems as far as I can tell.

Depends on your definition of fraudulent. If money is stolen out of your account or your card is cloned then you will get your money back with a debit card. If the restaurant overcharges you or you are not happy with your webshop purchase then the bank will not help you out.

It might be an added benefit but in the end you do pay a couple percent on each purchase for that insurance.

> If the restaurant overcharges you or you are not happy with your webshop purchase then the bank will not help you out.

I don't know what it's like in other European countries, but I have to enter my PIN code before a transaction can take place (except for very small transactions). So since overcharging or webshops charging my account cannot really happen without my explicit permission, I don't really see how that could happen?

You pay the couple of percent whether you use the credit card or not, since there is usually no discount for cash or debit.

On the other hand, a credit card will give you back 1-2% of that in the form of cash back or other rewards. So in effect you are paying to not use a credit card.

None of these are intrinsic properties of credit cards so it's a bit optimistic to assume they apply in all countries.

That benefit isn’t free. It’s padded onto the product price and subsidized by non CC users.