[jorams]

Paypal is practically the only commonly accepted online payment method that doesn't require me to have a credit card. The reason people use Paypal today is that they offer a service without much competition to people who want to pay, so if you want to get paid you're leaving money on the table if you don't accept Paypal.

This does of course depend on where your customer base is. Credit cards are universal in the US, not so much internationally.

[Nullabillity]

Also, it's pretty much the only international way to pay without giving your card credentials to the seller.

When buying locally you can usually pay by wire transfer or Swish, but otherwise PayPal is the least bad option (as a buyer).

[gcb0]

people only use paypal because vendors accept paypal.

you wouldn't have a paypal account otherwise.

and outside of the usa, most bank systems have ways to forward money based on other records. I've implemented a few in south American countries where by accepting CC from one operator you also get an optional printable invoice (boleto) that can be paid on the bank (online or not) and it transfer same day to your account.

[jorams]

> people only use paypal because vendors accept paypal.

> you wouldn't have a paypal account otherwise.

Sure, if I couldn't use it to pay for anything, I wouldn't have a Paypal account. I don't use Paypal to send money to friends or anything like that, just for (international) online payments.

> and outside of the usa, most bank systems have ways to forward money based on other records.

Sure, but those aren't generally accepted online, internationally.

For example, the vast majority of online payments in the Netherlands are done through iDEAL, but that only works for Dutch banks. Some (generally large) stores support it, but most don't.

[simonh]

In the UK we mostly use debit cards these days, although the term ‘credit card’ seems to generally include debit cards. I haven’t had a credit card for almost a decade. Everytime an online store says credit cards only, it’s taken my debit card.

[timthorn]

> we mostly use debit cards these days

Which seems odd to me. Credit cards offer the advantages of points/cashback and more importantly the Consumer Credit Act, such that the card issuer is jointly liable for the goods. I only use my debit card to withdraw cash as the protections and incentives with my credit cards are much better.

[sparkie]

The UK has more consumer protection laws in general, so the need for the card issuer to provide protection is not as necessary.

Credit cards have some perks, but they also have interest rates which debit cards do not. Many people would rather avoid getting into debt at all, because it can be very easy to go just over budget and end up paying more than you wanted, or getting locked in a debt spiral where you can't afford to pay off the growing interest.

[mackey]

I can understand not wanting a CC if you don't trust yourself to be responsible, but if you are responsible its effectively the same as debit card + better perks. I have never paid any interest in the 14 years of using CCs and use them for everything.

Now I understand that being responsible is easier said than done, given various circumstance. I grew up without a lot money and my parents were pretty religious about budgeting cash weekly into envelopes, but even they eventually switched to using CCs and only spending what they had cash for. Too hard to pass up cash back on gas, groceries, bills, etc. Every little bit helps.

[concerned_user]

Do you live in Europe? Because to get all those benefits you mention credit card is quite a bit more expensive than the debit one. Also cashback is not a thing in Europe.

[timthorn]

I do. And while I pay a fee for one of my credit cards, another (that gets me cashback in a supermarket) is free.

[timthorn]

> need for the card issuer to provide protection is not as necessary

It is a legal responsibility upon the issuer, rather than a discretionary benefit. It is particularly beneficial when a retailer goes out of business; an undelivered or broken order will be refunded, whereas if the bill was paid by debit card you'd just be considered a creditor.

[concerned_user]

You are correct but from my experience when I was visiting UK in 2008 you get charged with extra fee it was ~2% if you want to use the credit card or it was no extra fee if debit, so I was advised not to use credit card. Now I don't know if it was only specific places like aldi/tesco since I've only been there few weeks, and only to those places. Also cashbacks are not a thing even in 2018 in eastern europe at least, you can get miles, loyalty points, but not cashback.

[neilwilson]

Such a surcharge was banned in the UK in January 2018. Now vendors have to accept all forms of payment they accept at no additional cost to the consumer.

[concerned_user]

Here in Lithuania we have this since ~2013 or maybe even earlier, that you can't charge lower price because of the payment method. But to get around that law vendors here give discount, i.e. you are not banned from saying - we give x discount if you pay cash.

Although I stopped seeing it lately so I guess it was banned as well, most shops started rollout of their own or joint loyalty schemes with points, and they are very clear on that points are not money but x points equals certain amount of discount, which is funny to watch but it is essentially a loophole around this law once again.