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> The immediacy of transfers seems to be the main reason why companies use credit card services, not buyer protection or actual credit.

I think the above is quite wrong (with moderate confidence). Is the above claim consistent with survey data? It is my understanding that:

1. companies care a lot about risk reduction. This includes protection from chargebacks.

2. companies benefit when customers have credit: it enables more spending and can smooth out ups and downs in individual purchasing ability

3. Yes, quick transfers matter, but not in isolation from the above two.




Well, chargebacks are not possible for ordinary bank transfers. The problem is that the they are too slow and not convenient enough. This is a software / standardization issue. Credit: PayPal is successful despite it only offering very short credits in order to ensure quick transfers. And in physical shops credit cards often seem to be no more than a convenient way to pay without cash. In Germany you can actually pay in all shops and restaurants with a form of debit card, which is just as convenient as paying with credit cards, but has less fees for the shop, since there is no credit card company in the middle. As a result most people don't own a credit card. This doesn't work so well online though.




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