Originally Posted by
CPH-Flyer
The main driver of profit for credit card companies in the US is that a lot of people use revolving payments, which is an easy to get yet expensive line of credit. That basically pays for the party.
The higher card processing/transaction fees in the US + the benefits of securitization that come from a scale that is unequaled outside of the US is what pays for the party for US card users who play the card game. The financially desperate and clueless paying high consumer interest rates are only a part for what pays for the party in the US.