[izolate]

I've just moved to Netherlands and noticed this. Cash & Maestro (Debit) cards are the norm here.

Credit cards aren't any more popular in the UK, but our debit cards tend to be Visa/Mastercard and we use them the same way. I think mainland Europe has some catching up to do to London as far as being a cashless society :)

[allendoerfer]

Do we really need to put Visa/Mastercard in front of every transaction if we already have model working exactly the same way from a customers point of view?

I would say the opposite is true: If you need Visa/Mastercard, your country's banking system is broken. Sending cheques via physical mail is something nobody would even think of over here. I think I have never even seen one.