> Why should anyone appreciate paragraphs of text from someone who thinks Europeans can't use payment cards?

I'm German, so I'm basing my statement on almost 34 years of living here. In case you want some more details from an actual bank, read this [1].

Basically, we don't need credit cards, not even for renting cars, because we have robust regulation and our own national cashless payment schemes plus SEPA. Direct debit is just fine for us.

[1] https://n26.com/en-de/blog/taboo-of-credit