Why are Debit Cards accepted everywhere, but Credit Cards aren’t?

Question

In my experience, it doesn’t matter if you bank with a major bank, a small bank, a credit union, etc., your debit card is accepted everywhere. However, only some places will accept Visa or MasterCard or [insert credit card here].

Why are Debit Cards universal and Credit Cards aren’t?

In: Technology

Answer 1

Credit cards are borrowed money and so credit card companies charge fees to both the borrower and the merchant for their use. Some stores don’t want to accept this fee and so they refuse some or all credit cards. Some stores find the fee to be worth accepting due to the increased business they think they are getting and so they will accept some or all credit cards.

Each credit card company applies their fees differently so stores will often reject cards that have higher fees.