Quote:
Originally Posted by alternico
So you can not make a recharge on the site of vodafone.de using a regular credit card?
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No.
Germans are not big credit card users. Many stores don't accept them (even international ones like Ikea, which take credit cards everywhere else). Most payments of this kind are made by a well-established system of bank transfers. Some of this has to do with the fact that German retailers are often world leaders in competing on price (not service, where they are often clueless) and can't afford the credit card fees. Another reason often heard is that Germans are terrified of taking on debt, after the hyperinflation of 1923. Whatever the reason, the percentage of people holding CCs is still relatively low compared to other industrialized countries, and it's therefore not essential for retailers and others to accept them, which means there's less incentive to hold one. This is why you often see German tourists abroad still trying to use traveler's checks, and it's part of the reason why you can't recharge your Vodafone SIM using one in Germany, but you can elsewhere.