Why Germans pay cash for almost everything
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Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything
#2According to https://www.cashforless.de/ec_cash_info/Fakten_zur_Kartenzah... methods for payments in stores 2011 was 57% cash, 5.3% credit card, 33% debit card (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_cash).
> "of course, [the Germans] attitudes toward currency must owe something to Germany’s tumultuous monetary history. During the Weimar-era hyperinflation that peaked in 1923 [...]"
> "the German tendency to settle up in cash undeniably reflects the fact that for much of the last century, Germany has been either on the brink of, in the midst of, or struggling to recover from, disaster."
As a German I call that theory into question. Our currency has been stable for 60+ years. It would've been nice if other countries with recent disasters (war, hyperinflation, sanctions) and their attitude toward currency was compared against.
Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything
#3This seems counter-intuitive to me. The author argues it's due to hyperinflation from the pre-WW2 era, concluding that "People in countries that suffered banking crises quite sensibly often prefer to save in cash."
If there really is some national memory of that crisis, wouldn't they actually prefer to actually avoid saving in cash? During the hyperinflation period your cash could lose half of its value overnight. This just doesn't make sense.
Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything
#4It might be worth mentioning, but the payment preference goes both ways. Germans' preference for cash payments sometimes means or meant that payment options common elsewhere might not be available.
This caught me out at a McDonald's in Berlin that accepted neither Visa nor MasterCard earlier this decade. Even bigger brands adapt to local culture, it seems.
Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything
#5This seems counter-intuitive to me. The author argues it's due to hyperinflation from the pre-WW2 era, concluding that "People in countries that suffered banking crises quite sensibly often prefer to save in cash." If there really is some national memory of that crisis, wouldn't they actually prefer to actually avoid saving in cash? During the hyperinflation period your cash could lose half of its value overnight. Th…
Perhaps it means that when your money is in a bank account, the bank can refuse to give it back to you until it loses all its value. In cash, you can spend it straight away.
Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything
#6They're smart.
I went all cash a few months ago for everything except hotels and rental cars. It's very liberating. Credit cards give you 3-5% incentives to spend because you spend more. Since going all cash, we spend in average 15% less.
Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything
#7It might be worth mentioning, but the payment preference goes both ways. Germans' preference for cash payments sometimes means or meant that payment options common elsewhere might not be available. This caught me out at a McDonald's in Berlin that accepted neither Visa nor MasterCard earlier this decade. Even bigger brands adapt to local culture, it seems.
McDonalds didn't accept card payments anywhere until around 2002.
Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything
#8As a German, I disagree. I've had many discussions about the upcoming NFC payment options and the main argument was privacy.
Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything
#9This seems counter-intuitive to me. The author argues it's due to hyperinflation from the pre-WW2 era, concluding that "People in countries that suffered banking crises quite sensibly often prefer to save in cash." If there really is some national memory of that crisis, wouldn't they actually prefer to actually avoid saving in cash? During the hyperinflation period your cash could lose half of its value overnight. Th…
No. The institutions become untrustworthy.
In a hyperinflation environment your priority is converting cash into assets as quickly as possible.
Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything
#10It might be worth mentioning, but the payment preference goes both ways. Germans' preference for cash payments sometimes means or meant that payment options common elsewhere might not be available. This caught me out at a McDonald's in Berlin that accepted neither Visa nor MasterCard earlier this decade. Even bigger brands adapt to local culture, it seems.
Agreed, most places in Berlin won't take cards or only take EC cards.
That has made me use cash, and not fear of any kind.