> my card was practically useless

That's because merchants pay 3% or more for a creditcard payment, and something like 0.8% for a local bank card payment (with the online equivalent iDeal). On top of that, there is much more risk accepting the creditcard with chargebacks, while the banks guarantee normal/iDeal payments. So most merchants here really dislike creditcard payments, it "costs them" much more.

Of course I understand that this is not a solution for accepting payments internationally. What I say is that the whole creditcard payment system, as it currently works, should be replaced by something saner, something that looks more like iDeal.