Now a days bitstamp accepts credit cards also for the purchase of bitcoins. For the time being, the Simplex gateway is only available to customers in the US, though.  Users can buy Bitcoin with their Visa or Mastercard debit and credit cards alike. Customers in the EU and various other countries have been using a similar feature for quite some time now. It is evident this traditional payment method has been rather successful in those parts of the world.

All of this shows demand for Bitcoin will continue to increase. Even though the price is correcting itself right now, there is nothing to worry about yet. The 8% fee is quite steep, although the BTC price can [easily] gain a similar or higher value to offset the costs. An interesting move by Bitstamp, to say the least.