But doesn't that have way more to do with (EU) regulation? I thought that they take quite a significant chunk in the US
If that's what you're meaning, then I simply don't know as I've not heard that before. :)
The commissions are capped by law in some parts, but not others.
As a small sample, in RO i think a large store chain pays like 0.5%. The consequence is credit card reward programs are either non existent or something like 0.1% cashback. The other consequence is you can pay by card almost anywhere.
On the other hand I've been to NL and small stores simply did not take Visa/MC because it was too expensive for them. Guessing the visa/mc charges weren't capped there.
Culturally, though, small retailers may still believe that credit card fees are higher than they actually are.
They may be concerned about refund and chargeback processes.
Or, their gateway either cannot offer credit cards on their POS terminals for technical or compliance reasons, or the retailer simply hasn’t enabled the payment methods.
It’s not regulation in NL that blocks small retailers from taking V or MC.
In DE or NL, you operate via an intermediary ( like payone, etc ) and a single terminal. Maybe here comes the difference.
PS. Larger shops/markets ( like kaufland, carrefour, etc ) have also just one, but I guess they negociate the fee.
No, I was born and live there.
My groceries kiosk has just the single terminal.
Where I shop, only Dedeman, Altex and the eMag showroom still ask me what bank is the card from, and they're nowhere near small...
Edit: Hmm. Cozy? Small world...
But yes, is a mix/jungle of options. But I find fascinating that paying with cards has a far more adoption than some places in western world.
I think that law also cames with caps on card charges. Or at least there was so much competition between banks for the new market that purchase charges dropped on their own.