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Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

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Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#181

Post by planteen »

codegeek wrote: post #148
pantalaimon wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Another difference between American and other systems. Credit cards in US don't have PIN numbers. Only Debit cards have PIN.

They do have PINs, just most people don't know what they are. You can use the PIN to withdraw cash from an ATM at a ridiculous interest rate. I recently was using my credit card in Iceland at a gas pump where I was prompted for a PIN.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#182

Post by jahnu »

gruturo wrote: post #174
Symbiote wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are contactless terminals widespread in Germany? On a short trip last month, I surprised a couple of merchants by paying contactlessly with my foreign (EU) card. That's almost always faster than paying by cash, since there's no need to count the money or make change. The exception is when the cost is €20, and I can hand over a single note.

> Are contactless terminals widespread in Germany? They are absolutely everywhere since last year more or less, but everybody (esp. cashiers) is always dumbfounded when I use it and it works. Also some of them try to handle your card for you "to insert it in the right way" and since my German is still rather basic I then have to weigh the potential time waste of explaining it's a contactless card with the extra 4-5 s…

Strange. In Austria it's pretty popular now.

Some stores have fucked up the speed of it though by first checking for your store membership account on the card which ruins the flow of the transaction. Often forcing the whole thing to be repeated. It's infuriating.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#183

Post by aembleton »

wongarsu wrote: post #131
codegeek wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 a German supermarket there are two notable differences: People pay with rounded bills most of the time, cashiers are fast at returning change (amounts are usually a single cent below the full euro for each item, so change isn't a big problem). The credit card workflow requires you to sign as well (or alternatively sometimes your pin if it's a debit card). Also, no swiping, only chip readers. So in essence, taking…

I've never lived in Germany, only visited as a tourist a few times to several different cities.

I've never had to sign in the last couple of years when using my credit card. Fewer smaller shops would take it than in the UK, but otherwise I never noticed any difference.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#184

Post by aembleton »

antouank wrote: post #171
wongarsu wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a German supermarket there are two notable differences: People pay with rounded bills most of the time, cashiers are fast at returning change (amounts are usually a single cent below the full euro for each item, so change isn't a big problem). The credit card workflow requires you to sign as well (or alternatively sometimes your pin if it's a debit card). Also, no swiping, only chip readers. So in essence, taking…

Say hello to contactless https://www.visa.co.uk/products/visa-contactless/ Standard on most bank cards in the UK. No pin or anything. Tap it on the machine and you go. Takes 2 seconds at most. Still, I do hold cash sometimes, you do need it in some cases.

I'm sure I've used this in Germany many times at Lidl and other supermarkets.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#185

Post by ThatGeoGuy »

antouank wrote: post #171
wongarsu wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a German supermarket there are two notable differences: People pay with rounded bills most of the time, cashiers are fast at returning change (amounts are usually a single cent below the full euro for each item, so change isn't a big problem). The credit card workflow requires you to sign as well (or alternatively sometimes your pin if it's a debit card). Also, no swiping, only chip readers. So in essence, taking…

Say hello to contactless https://www.visa.co.uk/products/visa-contactless/ Standard on most bank cards in the UK. No pin or anything. Tap it on the machine and you go. Takes 2 seconds at most. Still, I do hold cash sometimes, you do need it in some cases.

Further to this, I've actually found in Canada I use Android Pay more and more often now that it's available. The whole country is shifting to contactless and it's incredibly useful to just be able to pull out my phone and make a purchase.

It's faster, and the app gives a list of the purchases you've made with a card, so I can track what I'm spending relatively easily. Unfortunately, there are still lots of stores that haven't upgraded to contactless yet, which means I can't rely on Android pay for the time being. I can see this being much worse in Europe where contactless payments aren't implemented in many more places than here in Canada.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#186

Post by felipelemos »

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…

Brazilian here. We had a three-to-four-digit annual inflation rates that last 14 years, from 1980 to 1994 (and it topped 5000% on the last year). Almost everyone uses debit or credit card nowadays. Even transport cards machines, taxis, small vendors, food trucks accepts credit cards. Usually I only carry cash for some emergency to the point I don't even remember how much I left on my wallet.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#187

Post by mohlerm »

foepys wrote: post #101
Cyph0n wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Android/Apple Pay (using NFC) is even faster from my experience. On top of that, the merchant never gets your CC data, so it's much more secure. It's still not widespread, but I make sure to use it whenever I get the chance.

Is this really true for Android? I know Apple hides your CC number but I'm unsure about Android.

Yes, it's true even for android. From: https://www.android.com/pay/

Your card info stays safe When you use your phone to pay in stores, Android Pay doesn’t send your actual credit or debit card number with your payment. Instead we use a virtual account number to represent your account info – so your card details stay safe and secure.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#188

Post by TillE »

conanbatt wrote: post #119
codegeek wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> Berlin...have rounded prices for everything

That's rarely the case. I can only think of dm (a drugstore) which rounds all prices in 5 cent increments. Otherwise you see a lot of prices ending in 8 or 9.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#189

Post by _up »

m_mueller wrote: post #33

As a Swiss German I think the currency stability argument is moot. Swiss Frank is one of the most stable currencies available and we still have a similar attitude to cash as Germans. IMO it's mainly due to the following reasons: 1) CC is slow, at least in Switzerland. Like in Germany, efficiency is baked into the culture - people hate to wait on someone paying his chocolate bar with credit card. It's also not rare fo…

Another big aspect is, German people like having control over their spending. Checking my Credit Card is unnecessary frustrating. While you have a pretty good overview of how much you are spending if you always get about the same amount from the ATM.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#190

Post by Sleeep »

fleg wrote: post #122
pantalaimon wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Contactless payments don't need PIN (up to some small but comfortable amount) and go through almost instantly.

I tried to use android pay for a few months. In theory its great (and it's great when it works!) but like 30% of the time it doesn't really work the first time, you have to play around with it on the card reader. Then the phone vibrates like it worked but nothing happens. You look at the phone and it says "please hold the card to the reader again." and despite Subway accepting android pay (and the cashiers insisting that it works for everyone else) whenever I try to use it there I get a message "please insert card." I was never able to figure out the workflow to get it to work on a vending machine. Also the first time I used it I froze the register.

So 70% of the time it saves time and 30% of the time it wastes time. Then I broke my phone and bought a replacement without NFC so I don't have the option anymore anyways.

It's a great system, however, I think the kinks need to be worked out a little.

(I had a Nexus 5x FYI)

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