No, because in Europe sales tax is higher and included in the displayed price, so stuff is generally more expensive. But obviously everything is 3% cheaper than it would be if businesses still had to pay 3% fees. (credit card fees used to be really high before EU regulation came in -- the minimum fee was so high that merchants sometimes paid more in fees than they made in profit when a customer swiped a credit card instead of a debit card).
But the much bigger advantage is that reward cards aren't a thing, and credit card usage is much less common. Most people just use their debit cards. Credit card debt is much less of a problem because credit cards aren't advertised like they are in the US. People spend less if they don't always have $3000 of credit available.
No, because in Europe sales tax is higher and included in the displayed price, so stuff is generally more expensive. But obviously everything is 3% cheaper than it would be if businesses still had to pay 3% fees. (credit card fees used to be really high before EU regulation came in -- the minimum fee was so high that merchants sometimes paid more in fees than they made in profit when a customer swiped a credit card instead of a debit card).
But the much bigger advantage is that reward cards aren't a thing, and credit card usage is much less common. Most people just use their debit cards. Credit card debt is much less of a problem because credit cards aren't advertised like they are in the US. People spend less if they don't always have $3000 of credit available.