As of: 08/28/2021 8:03 a.m.
Paying by credit card is particularly common in hotels and car rental companies. There are problems when the supposed credit card isn’t one at all. This is exactly the case with millions of Germans.
Just landed on vacation, now just quickly pick up the rental car before going to the hotel. But then this: the rental car company does not accept the card. The reason: the alleged credit card isn’t one at all.
What sounds like the horror of every vacationer can quickly become reality for millions of Germans. Because there are tons of bank cards in their wallets that look like a credit card, but are actually so-called debit cards.
“They didn’t accept the debit card”
Student Noah from Giessen experienced it himself. He also wanted to book a rental car. A deposit of 2000 euros was due for this. “They didn’t accept the debit card. It’s about somehow depositing these 2000 euros, and apparently that only works with a credit card,” he says.
The problem: Noah actually thought that his card with the silver numbers was exactly that: a credit card. He had opened an account with an online bank. In addition to his normal giro card, there was the Visa card free of charge. “That will have been in the fine print somewhere. I think it is being marketed a bit as a credit card or as a Visa card without any kind of warning that it is a light credit card,” said the student.
Difference Between Credit Cards and Debit Cards
From the outside, the cards look very similar: As with a credit card, the debit card is embossed with the small silver digits. Only the small imprint “Debit” makes the difference on the outside. A real credit card should have the word “Credit” on it.
Debit cards are basically comparable to the giro cards widespread in Germany, says Peter Tillmann. He is professor for monetary economics at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen. The optical difference is supposedly small. But it is all the greater when it comes to the time of stress. “The main difference is the point in time at which your account is debited. With the debit card, your current account is debited immediately after the transaction,” explains Tillmann. “With the credit card you get a credit from the bank and at the end of the month you get a collective statement for all the transactions you have made.”
Credit cards are often standard for bookings
In some industries, credit cards are still the required standard, such as in many hotels or with rental car companies. “The companies want this credit line as additional security, for them the debit card alone is not enough,” says Tillmann. This could lead to difficulties on vacation. He advises consumers to find out in good time which bank cards are in their wallets or to check which cards are accepted by the respective companies before going on holiday.
Apart from the difficulties that can arise with a debit card, Tillmann also points out its advantages. In this way, customers have full control of their spending at all times, as the account is debited immediately. “In addition, the debit card is often already included in the account management fees. So it is cheaper because you don’t have to buy the credit card.” In addition, the debit card is also an option for customers whose creditworthiness would not be sufficient for a normal credit card.
When shopping online, debit cards are usually accepted and are therefore an alternative to credit cards.
Image: dpa
Different acceptance for debit and giro cards
At many checkouts in German retail, giro cards are better accepted than debit cards from Mastercard and Visa. On the other hand, online debit cards work more often as a payment method and thus offer an alternative to traditional credit cards.
In contrast to the giro card, debit cards should usually not cause problems abroad, says Tillmann. “The debit cards that are issued by German credit institutions can normally also be used abroad. Because the banks cooperate in large networks with international partners, so that the card can then also be used internationally.”
Debit card as the model of the future?
In recent years, the number of debit cards issued in Germany has increased, as has the value of the payments made with them. According to the Bundesbank, there were around 102.4 million debit cards in circulation in Germany in 2010; in 2020 there were already 118.3 million.
Despite the increasing number, Tillmann does not expect credit cards to have to give way and debit cards to become the model of the future. Rather, he believes that the debit card provides an additional offering. “There will simply be a greater variety of payment options, just as there will also be a greater number of customers, for example those with a lower credit rating. They can then also use the debit card.”