Huh, okay, I didn't know buying things constantly on credit was common in Europe. Certainly not around Netherlands/Germany (so Austria seems odd, they generally share a culture). The only one of these countries I've been to is Italy but I was young enough that it was probably all cash then
I think there's some confusion here, you can use a credit card and have it processed on the back-end as a debit transaction, for a consumer the distinction is almost unnoticed.
This differs greatly according to global region. Germany from what I've observed is an outlying for noticing the distinction (mostly because they suffered from very high credit card surcharges for decades vs the rest of the world).
It's a debit card.
Not sure what you mean. Nobody buys anything with cache anymore. I keep some cache in my car for bazaar and similar stuff, but all but few stores accept cards everywhere in EU I go. The convenience of having all your cards on a phone is unparalleled.