In the U.S., it's easy to get a credit card that has no fees. (There are some cards, like the ones associated with airline frequent flyer points, that still have annual fees.)
In fact, some credit cards will pay you a rebate on your purchases. One card I have gives me back 1% of everything I spend (the credit card company charges the merchant 2-3%, so they still come out ahead). Since I pay off my balance every month and thus pay no interest, using my credit card actually saves me money over paying in cash.
US cards don't seem to have fees except "premium" ones that toss in a concierge service. Banks seem willing to give them to anyone that opens an account. Only fees I've known people to pay were for Amex ($99 to $5000 a year.)
Plus US banks give out VISA debit cards, making it a non-issue (well, security/chargebacks might be). Dunno about EU, but in Canada, this doesn't seem easy. I opened a business account, then asked for a VISA debit card and both the service person and manager appeared to be confused as to what that'd be. They insisted I could pay things using Interac (Canadian card network), with no concept this wouldn't work for online use. They kept thinking I wanted a credit card. Bizarre.
Maybe there's some huge cost to making MasterCard or VISA connected debit cards?
I haven't seen an annual fee on a credit card in the US for years. Also, every debit card I've had for the past 20 years acts as if it were a credit card. So any place that takes a credit card can get paid directly from my bank account without dealing with real "credit" at all.
"Also, every debit card I've had for the past 20 years acts as if it were a credit card."
Except that debit cards in the U.S. are not covered by the same consumer protection laws as credit cards[1], so it's harder to do stuff like disputing charges. It's also possible for an erroneous charge on a debit card to wipe out your bank account. For that reason, I specifically ask my bank to give me a card that does not work as a debit card, only as an ATM card.
[1] E.g., the 'Fair Credit Billing Act', a federal law that protects credit card transactions, doesn't apply.
I meant that it acts as if it were a credit card from the payment processing point of view.
I address the same problem by having multiple bank accounts that have small balances and auto-depositing my monthly budget for different things into them. If any one gets compromised (and the bank is unwilling to fix it), it doesn't take out my whole bank account. Plus it provides a nice "money into envelopes" style of budgeting that's very easy to understand.
If your card only works at the ATM, then how do you buy expensive things (something that costs more than the daily ATM withdrawal limit)?
There are a ton of cards that have fees, mostly American Express, but Chase and others too. The fees usually unlock certain benefits, eg: Amex Blue Everday will pay 3% cash back at grocery stores, or for $75/yr, they will pay 6% cash back. The Amex Gold Premier is $190/yr but offer $100/yr back in baggage fees and constantly run $25-100 off deals at Enterprise, Newegg, general travel expenses.
So whether these cards are worth it depends a lot on how you use your card, but, they can pay for themselves very easily.
In fact, some credit cards will pay you a rebate on your purchases. One card I have gives me back 1% of everything I spend (the credit card company charges the merchant 2-3%, so they still come out ahead). Since I pay off my balance every month and thus pay no interest, using my credit card actually saves me money over paying in cash.