Recall my previous post when the threat was emerging a couple years ago. Now that shit has played out. Now Discovercard customers are served by a much bigger scumbag.
It’s also a practical problem. The hand-off was apparently incompetently executed so now I have suppliers harassing me because the Discovercard they have on file quit working. And it looks like Cap One wants to stuff their app and shit down our throats. Fuck me if that’s true.
Around a decade prior the Japanese network (JCB) pulled out of the US. So no quasi-ethical refuge.
Cash is very much still a thing for Germany.
Many online stores allow you to do bank transfers to pay for products.
Indeed Germany is a cash strong-hold. But the German system is fragile. When cash is refused by a German company, the enforcement authorities are looking the other way. There is also no German ombudsman to appeal to, so without accountability enforcement agencies have no incentive to act. The only thing currently enabling cash to persist in Germany is the capitalistic drive to serve customers who like cash – which is almost sufficient today but it’s a downward trend worldwide. So cash will die in Germany as soon as a large enough portion of consumers quit caring. I think the tipping point is not far off. It’s just a matter of a few elderly folks dying off.
Okay, but Discovercard is a US institution with very little acceptance outside the US. Americans never have a bank transfer option for online purchases. Most Americans don’t even have an IBAN. Only 7 banks in the US have an IBAN themselves (out of ~2000 banks). So of the ~1993 or so banks some get an agreement with one of the 7 banks to borrow their SWIFT access. It’s quite messy and the fees are absurd. Because the money goes via 3rd party, the comment field is used for critical information about the ultimate beneficiary.