Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

qz.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 497 posts

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#111

Post by pantalaimon »

codegeek wrote: post #94
_Codemonkeyism wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a German a.) I mostly pay cash because it's faster b.) some shops that can afford it only have cash payments to save on CC costs Not because of inflation or because something happend 100y ago.

As an american, I find it strange that cash is faster. Most people who pay cash need to wait to get the change back unless they know the total beforehand and happen to have exact change. In the US, credit card machines are very fast even the chip enabled ones. Cash workflow: - Cashier tells you the total amount - You look in your wallet/purse - You spend time counting exact change if you do have it - If not, you take…

> Credit card workflow:

> - Cashier tells you the total amount

> - You look in your wallet/purse

> - You swipe card/insert in chip reader

> - Done

You forgot the part where you have to enter you PIN and wait for the transaction to go through, or sign the receipt.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#112

Post by wila »

sparkling wrote: post #87
_Codemonkeyism wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a German a.) I mostly pay cash because it's faster b.) some shops that can afford it only have cash payments to save on CC costs Not because of inflation or because something happend 100y ago.

As a German a) I don't want to feed the Visa/Mastercard/Amex/Whatever leach earning a few cents of every transaction.

Not German, but I simply don't want to leave my trail of what I am spending and where.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#113

Post by kekub »

_Codemonkeyism wrote: post #81
mtmail wrote: post #2

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…

As a German a.) I mostly pay cash because it's faster b.) some shops that can afford it only have cash payments to save on CC costs Not because of inflation or because something happend 100y ago.

As a German a.) I mostly pay by credit card because it is way faster. By using paywave you can pay instantly at all larger shops and supermarkets. b.) The shops need to pay up to 1.7%. If you compare this against the time saved by not returning change and having to carry a money cassette every evening to their bank the saving potential is big. I try to not use cash anymore, but fail to do so in smaller shops or at the hair stylist.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#114

Post by oneeyedpigeon »

laumars wrote: post #89
oneeyedpigeon wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm pretty sure I used my UK (debit) card, the other day, to pay for something absurdly cheap - maybe 49p? I was about as surprised that they accepted it as I am when a shop requires me to pay a huge minimum - e.g. £10 - and it's not quite as straightforward as "big shops do this, small shops, that".

The "I only have my debit card on me. What's your minimum spend" conversation used to be annoying. Thankfully that's been less of an issue since contactless as shops now often expect you to pay for small items on card.

Contactless is wonderful, especially now the receipt for smaller items is effectively being phased out; couldn't the receipt-handling just get handed over to banks, ultimately? That could be really useful...

I still use cash, probably more than the average. There are just a handful of situations - paying for a newspaper, or at my local bakery - where it feels more 'natural' to me to use cash, but I'm sure that feeling will go eventually!

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#115

Post by gehwartzen »

Spooky23 wrote: post #6

They'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.

Not surprisingly Germany has one of the highest household savings rates in Europe. In fact almost all the top countries are German speaking or have German as an official language.[1]

[1] http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?QueryId=51648

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#116

Post by lower »

lima wrote: post #8

As a German, I disagree. I've had many discussions about the upcoming NFC payment options and the main argument was privacy.

I (German) have never used NFC payments and was curious how that would work with my bank. Turns out they want me to install an app on my phone for this, which is definitely not going to happen.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#117

Post by xioxox »

simonhfrost wrote: post #51
overcast wrote: post #15

Considering everyone is carrying around wads to pay in cash. Are thieves/muggings a big problem in Germany?

I can't comment about the rate of muggings, but ATMs are everywhere which would promote holding less cash for shorter periods of time. It's not uncommon to visit a bank in the centre city where most of the 5-6 ATMs are full of people withdrawing cash (which is a stark difference between more cash-digitised nations).

However German banks like to charge you if you use the wrong machine. There are various different networks and you have to use the right one to make sure you aren't charged. This is quite different from the UK where most machines are free.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#118

Post by eatbitseveryday »

wila wrote: post #112
sparkling wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a German a) I don't want to feed the Visa/Mastercard/Amex/Whatever leach earning a few cents of every transaction.

Not German, but I simply don't want to leave my trail of what I am spending and where.

And what of purchases made on websites?

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#119

Post by conanbatt »

codegeek wrote: post #94
_Codemonkeyism wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a German a.) I mostly pay cash because it's faster b.) some shops that can afford it only have cash payments to save on CC costs Not because of inflation or because something happend 100y ago.

As an american, I find it strange that cash is faster. Most people who pay cash need to wait to get the change back unless they know the total beforehand and happen to have exact change. In the US, credit card machines are very fast even the chip enabled ones. Cash workflow: - Cashier tells you the total amount - You look in your wallet/purse - You spend time counting exact change if you do have it - If not, you take…

In america prices are always cent-specific (2.85, 3.78). Berlin, much like Argentina (cash strong markets) have rounded prices for everything, its actually much faster. What ist errible is the waste of time going to an atm frequently, or handling lots of petty coins or bills.

Cards are definitely more convenient.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#120

Post by yxhuvud »

Spooky23 wrote: post #6

They'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.

Those incentives go away if you use a debit card though.
Post reply on HN