To me it seems like some people use the term "credit card" for any bank card, while some actually mean the "credit" part. While "credit" (non-debit) cards don't seem to be THAT popular in the European part of the world, I think that bank cards are pretty much ubiquitous.

Here in Canada, many debit/bank cards now have affiliation with Visa or Mastercard (obvious with a logo in corner), and CAN be used as Credit Cards.

But that hasn't been the case historically - debit/bank card would work on bank's ATM and related Interact/Plus systems. But until semi-recently would NOT work if you accidentally hit "Credit" instead of "Debit" on ATM or retailer's POS system, and would NOT work on websites requiring Credit card - completely different paths. And to my knowledge many bank/debit cards in Canada still cannot serve as credit cards - they just don't have that capability/afiliation baked in.

Note - I speak as a semi-observant customer, I have no systems-based knowledge of these things :-)

Dunno how rare they are, I suspect rare, but I can't find any numbers with a quick search.

I suspect debit-only cards are rare in the US. Outside the US: No clue at all.

For Germany, a German debit card (the "other sort", as you put it) isn’t the same as any other. It doesn’t have Visa or MasterCard co-branding like other countries’ debit cards, nor a 16 digit number, so it can’t be used online. I might also use the term "bank card" for this, because there are actual debit cards with Visa/MC co-branding which are available in Germany, but less common than other types.

It's also common for Germans to use "Kreditkarte" to mean anything with Visa/MC co-branding, which probably spills over into English. This also leads to the hilarious term "echte Kreditkarten" (real credit cards) for cards that actually have a rolling line of credit attached (these are rarely offered).

However, in the UK I recall that people are usually specific about whether they mean a credit card or a debit card.

I have such a card and it is neither a MasterCard or Visa card. It looks like a Credit card with a Chip and magnetic stripe, but it has my IBAN on the front instead of a Credit Card number. These cards are the standard here in germany. If you have a german bank account you get one of these.

You can use it pretty much like a Credit Card and you can even pay contactless with it, but I think you can only do so here in Germany. Though it does not work if you only support credit cards.

Since these cards are standard and free some people do not bother with a credit card.

You talk, you notice when you go shopping together, etc :)

You make an assumption because of some info at some point in time and think of it as a constant fact. :)

For example, I know my brother had a credit card. Does he still have it? I would have to call him and ask him. :)