The tax man sticks it to Cipollini

[limerickman]

Lim, I thought this is more of a European rather than Italian thing. I know that in Germany, many places do accept credit cards, but many others don't; clearly this is something that is just changing now, and it is possible that Italy is still a bit behind in this regard. Usually, they do accept debit cards in shops though, since that is almost like paying with cash.

Now that you mention it.......some shops in Paris don't accept credit cards etc.

I've found that credit cards are widely accepted anytime I've been to Germany
(Berlin, Munich and Cologne).
But then they're major cities and I suppose credit cards usage is more common place.

Bu you could be right - it might be a European thing as opposed to it being an Italian thing.
(I just assumed that being a foreigner, they prefer cash from me in Italy).

 

[TheDarkLord]

Now that you mention it.......some shops in Paris don't accept credit cards etc.

I've found that credit cards are widely accepted anytime I've been to Germany
(Berlin, Munich and Cologne).
But then they're major cities and I suppose credit cards usage is more common place.

Bu you could be right - it might be a European thing as opposed to it being an Italian thing.
(I just assumed that being a foreigner, they prefer cash from me in Italy).

When I came to Germany, I was told that credit cards are now being accepted in more places than they were in the past. There are still many shops that won't let you use even a debit card unless the bill is more than some minimum amount (such as 10 Euros).

 

[Powerful Pete]

The reluctance to use credit cards here is twofold: (i) there is an additional charge to the shop and they are paid with a significant delay; and (ii) cash payment = no need for a receipt=declaring what you want to the tax authorities.

 

[poulidor]

Now that you mention it.......some shops in Paris don't accept credit cards etc.

The vast majority of French pays with credit cards, the trader enjoys it because with french credit card and electronic chip, he is sure to be paid when the transaction is validated by bank in live.
For foreign cards, I am not sure that they have this kind of facilities, so if they were victims of too many false they could become reluctant to accept it.