ATM withdrawal typically is free (at the same banking group).
The merchant fees are part of the total cost, so lower fees provide a competitive edge to the merchant. (the listed price also contains VAT, so you pay what's on the sticker, not like in the US)
Aldi (a discount grocery chain) didn't accept _any_ cards for a long time to avoid these extra costs.
In short: the German market situation is rigged in favor of cash, which is "free", which is hard to compete with when you're selling credit card services for a living.
Why kind of world has people saying cash is rigged to be cheaper. It's the medium of exchange, everything else is on top of it. Of course it costs more!
The merchant fees are part of the total cost, so lower fees provide a competitive edge to the merchant. (the listed price also contains VAT, so you pay what's on the sticker, not like in the US)
Aldi (a discount grocery chain) didn't accept _any_ cards for a long time to avoid these extra costs.
In short: the German market situation is rigged in favor of cash, which is "free", which is hard to compete with when you're selling credit card services for a living.