This has a number of advantages for customers. The new debit cards make it much easier to pay online and abroad. With the conventional EC card, you always come up once morest limits here.
But there are also downsides. Visa and Mastercard have a very high market power. This allows them to charge very high transaction fees. For retailers, the fees are sometimes up to four times higher than with the Girocard.
Consumer advocates are therefore calling for a European system to counterbalance the US providers. However, the work on it is apparently difficult and the first financial institutions such as Commerzbank are already withdrawing. In addition, a statutory cap on fees might be helpful.
