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Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

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Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#341

Post by tibbon »

_Codemonkeyism wrote: post #261
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…

Cash workflow: - Cashier tells you the total amount - I get a 10 EUR note from my trouser pocket - Cashier gives back money - I put money in trouser pocket - Done - Home: I put all spare money in a large glass jar Credit card workflow: - Cashier tells you the total amount - You look in your wallet/purse - You swipe card/insert in chip reader - You insert PIN number - You shield your PIN entrie from the people next to…

I agreed. Paying with card is fraught with slow terminals, bad card readers, many prompts in a row (Credit or debt, is this the right amount, do you want to donate $1 to something, do you want it all on one card, would you like to sign up for a store credit card, do you want cash back, how much, do you want a receipt?). For some reason, these all have a 2-5 second delay between them. I could make a system on a $2 arduino that was faster.

Some places like Starbucks seem to get it right. Swipe card and go.

Target however likes to hit you with all the options. Self checkout is even worse.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#342

Post by amenghra »

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…

One factor that contributes to making cash slower in USA is the fact that the price displayed isn't the price you have to pay (because of taxes added at checkout time). You end up having to handle random amount of small change for something that ended up being $10.21 (but advertised as $9.99).

In most EU countries, the item would be priced at €10, you would pay with a €10 bill and move on.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#344

Post by majewsky »

samastur wrote: post #102
intsunny wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 1) CC is slow While the CC may or may not be slow. In the 5+ months I've now been living in Germany, I've noticed that people are very keen to pay with exact change if they can dig it up. This is an even slower process, but also seems to be the norm.

Years ago I collected all change for 6 months without spending any. Afterwards I counted all to see how much of each type of coin I have collected during this time. The idea was to see if it is worth bothering collecting all coins or is there are a cut-off for me as I dislike having carrying really thick and heavy wallet. It turned out that for my pattern of cash use collecting coins bellow 10 cents really wasn't wor…

When I pay with cash and the change would be below 5 cents, I usually say "Stimmt so" (i.e. "keep the change") and just leave. If I forget and the cashier puts change on the counter, I just pick the golden and silver coins and leave the rest lying there.

I don't remember any unfriendly looks. But then again, I'm German, so I probably just didn't notice the looks. :)

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#345

Post by deftturtle »

romwell wrote: post #291
_Codemonkeyism wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cash workflow: - Cashier tells you the total amount - I get a 10 EUR note from my trouser pocket - Cashier gives back money - I put money in trouser pocket - Done - Home: I put all spare money in a large glass jar Credit card workflow: - Cashier tells you the total amount - You look in your wallet/purse - You swipe card/insert in chip reader - You insert PIN number - You shield your PIN entrie from the people next to…

Note for the American readers: in the glorious lands across the ocean, chip cards of all kinds use a PIN instead of a signature, which makes way more sense anyway. Chip & sign is an American abomination.

I always just scribble or write celebrity names, since there's no security benefit to a signature.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#346

Post by majewsky »

germanier wrote: post #307
distances wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm indeed thinking independent stores, family-run restaurants and discount markets such as Netto which only accept the German card; local kiosks and fast-food places take cash only. I can confirm credit card works in upscale markets (like Rewe) and major chains.

Both Netto with and without a dog in the logo (competing chains with the same name) now accept credit cards, same with other discount markets such as Aldi, Lidl, and Kaufland. Major exceptions in the food sector are most Penny and many Edeka stores (a lot of the latter I would categorize as "upscale"). You are right about independent stores and restaurants. Unless you know for sure all places you plan to go to take c…

> both Netto with and without a dog in the logo

I call them "red Netto" and "black Netto" because of the yellow-red and yellow-black color scheme. (The main color is, frustratingly, also the same.)

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#347

Post by Symbiote »

Samuray wrote: post #312

First, while it's true that the German "Schulden" is related to "Schuld", it's also true that one of the definitions of "debt" is "sin". I don't know if many anthropologists really have wasted much time thinking about this one, but it seems pretty irrelevant to me. Second, the German banking system is actually very modern. While the Americans and British are still sending cheques through the post, Germans are regular…

You shouldn't put the USA and Britain together in your comparison.

Direct debit is extremely popular in Britain, and cheques have declined over 10% for several years in a row.

Graphs (PDF): http://www.paymentsuk.org.uk/sites/default/files/publication...

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#348

Post by kuschku »

martinald wrote: post #262
jurgenwerk wrote: post #53

I thought it was the other way around - that the reason German people pay cash is simply because shops and bars refuse to support credit cards. Whenever I visit Berlin I'm so frustrated because I have to plan my spending ahead and make sure I have enough cash in my pocket before I go buy anything.

Agree, such a pain. Especially in restaurants if you take a large group out and want to pick the bill up. It has got better but I have been totally caught out with this on one of my first visits to Berlin with a fairly pricey group dinner and I physically cannot take more than €250 out of the ATM a day without taking cash out on CC which involves horrendous cash advance fees. I also don't buy this cc fee argument. It…

EC cards have 0.125% fees. That’s an entire order of magnitude cheaper than CC.

Of course no one is going to support CC if they can save that much money.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#349

Post by deftturtle »

killerpopiller wrote: post #176
hocuspocus wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who lived two years in Germany a) That's a good joke. From faster to slower: NFC > PIN > signature > cash. b) You should look into the real cost of dealing with cash. EC is stupidly cheap since it's basically the cost of a SEPA direct payment (we're talking 1-2 cents per transaction). Debit card payments can also be pretty cheap in Europe. All those annoying restaurants and small shops that take only cash…

I also suspect tax avoidance rather than transaction costs

Also surveillance avoidance. Cash is awesome for leaving fewer traces.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#350

Post by majewsky »

mohlerm wrote: post #187
foepys wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> virtual account number

So, just as trackable as a credit card number. Or are virtual account numbers unique per transaction?

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