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Considering everyone is carrying around wads to pay in cash. Are thieves/muggings a big problem in Germany?
There is a deep caution against technology here, especially if it's foreign technology. There were numerous attempts by German banks to reinvent the wheel with incompatible payment systems (Geldkarte, ...) none of which could be used for online payment. All of them failed. I would also counter the efficiency argument: having recently visited Norway for vacation, I'm still impressed with the efficiency of grocery shopping where everyone pays with their credit cards. Imho it's a mixture of privacy concerns and generally negative attitudes towards technology.
According 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 sett…
11 years ago, when I was living in Istanbul, I had bought bread from a supermarket and I paid with my credit-card, vendor of which had a deal with that supermarket-chain and automatically divided the payment of the bread to 10 months. If I remember correctly, they later banned the postponing of the payment of basic goods because it was getting ridiculous.
In America, I would prefer to use a debit card or cash, but many credit card issuers offer 1%-3% cash back, meaning, they give back 1%-3% of the purchases you make. That amount adds up over time.
Because you are paying much more in transaction fees. In the EU, transaction fees are capped at <<1% so there are no silly cash-back programs.
Yet another example of wealth transfer in the US from the poor (who often don't have credit cards, or don't have the high rewards ones because they cost $150+ dollars a year) to the upper middle class.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
$123 is still a lot of money. Pickpockets aren't roaming gangs of starving thieves.
$123 * 365 ~= 45k/year. So, you would need to mug / pickpocket 1 or more people per day per person involved. At a guess that's not very stable and your very likely to get caught. aka, you might get 100 peoples wallets at moderate risk, but going for 10's of thousands is a lot more risky. Also, stolen CC can be turned into cash.
Also, average monthly salary in Germany is $2666. Sounds WAY more profitable to be a pickpocket.
It 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.
I've been able to witness the change over the last 5 years in Germany. While gradual, it has been quite noticeable to see more plastic options become available, and my ATM visits have become less frequent. It's still a far cry from home (Australia) where I hadn't needed cash on hand in quite a long time, but it in terms of convenience it's not a big deal. it certainly beats France where cheques are still in extremely…
It sounds a bit crazy, but by law if a cheque bounces it was a criminal offence (I believe they recently changed it or were thinking about it).
There are a lot of interesting advantages to this, as you can effectively escrow cash without a third party. If you receive a cheque you know you can always (or should always) being able to cash it in.
According 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 sett…
Your economy is much more stable than mine in the UK yet anecdotally I've observed we use cards to pay for everything. Even silly little things that only cost a couple of £. In fact it is rare that I ever carry cash. The same is true for a fair number of my friends and family as well.
I use a credit card to pay for a $1.25 coffee. I never have cash, partly because I forget to take some out.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because you are paying much more in transaction fees. In the EU, transaction fees are capped at <<1% so there are no silly cash-back programs.
(Canada) As far as I know there are no transaction fees on credit cards. That's one of the reasons to stop using debit and use credit. The only fees are on the merchant (1.5%). Example : https://www.desjardins.com/ca/personal/loans-credit/credit-c... with no transaction fees (or monthly fees) along with 1% cashback.
I try to use cards when I can because I earn Frequent Flyer points, something I wouldn't get using cash. I've already used those points once to fund a Round The World trip (strangely enough, including a trip to Germany).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Your economy is much more stable than mine in the UK yet anecdotally I've observed we use cards to pay for everything. Even silly little things that only cost a couple of £. In fact it is rare that I ever carry cash. The same is true for a fair number of my friends and family as well.
I second this anecdata. I carry an Amex (credit) and a Mastercard (debit) backup. I don't carry any cash unless I know I have an imminent need.
But otherwise I'm in the same boat. Amex for everything I can possibly use it for, Visa for places that don't take Amex, Visa debit when I'm under a CC limit.