I have some Irish friends. And Ireland seems similar to the US when it comes to credit card usage (vs debit). I assume that is because Ireland is heavily influenced by US and UK banking habits. On other hand, Germans only use debit cards.
That's definitely not the case. Many people would have credit cards, but there's a lot less incentive to actually use them than there is in the US, because the interchange (paid ultimately by the merchant) is capped at 0.3% in the EU (whereas in the US it can be upward of 3% on high-end cards). The interchange pays for the 'reward' schemes that US card issuers provide, largely. Without those, why bother?
I've a credit card, but I essentially never use it, except when visiting the US (where some vendors actually refuse debit cards, or at least used to).
Peace of mind (that your checking account is not drained)?
- someone steals your card and PIN
- the merchant turns out to be dishonest (or some misunderstanding) and you want you money back
- you fall for fraud
- the merchant mistakenly charges you, causing an overdraft on your checking account
I checked the stats, and about 40% of purchases in Ireland are made by credit card. In the US, it is around 70%.