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.