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Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

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Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#471

Post by mgoetzke »

_Codemonkeyism wrote: post #265
pmoriarty wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only that, but you also have to either carry your small coins around so you can use them up or you have to collect them and then redeem them all for bills or deposit them. This is a royal pain. I have so much change lying around the house that I haven't bothered to count and redeem. On the other hand, if you use credit cards, you would ideally be keeping receipts and then reconciling them to the statements you ge…

Every evening I put all spare change from my trouser pockets into a large glass jar next to the door. Once a year I reedem the money and have a really nice dinner.

ha .. same here .. once a year on 'weltspartag' i gift this money to the kids and they split it up.

also i use it to get some change for the occasional buns

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#472

Post by faceplanted »

wongarsu wrote: post #138
fleg wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

But Germans don't trust contactless payment because in theory anybody could hold a card reader against your wallet while you're innocently waiting in some line.

The defence against that for me is that I have like 6 rfid enabled cards in my wallet, between my Oyster Card, student ID, library card, key card to access my work building, you can't scan any of them without taking it out individually.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#473

Post by martinald »

kuschku wrote: post #450
martinald wrote: post #444

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If your gross profit (not including rent and other fixed costs) at a restaurant is, say, 80%, do you still think 1% CC fees are silly? To me this seems like ridiculous premature optimisation. If I go to Germany and I'm having a meal with clients I'll phone ahead and see if they accept CC and won't visit if they don't.

> If your gross profit (not including rent and other fixed costs) at a restaurant is, say, 80%, do you still think 1% CC fees are silly? That's a question, but that's not what things look like. Many German businesses are operating at razor-thin margins, or even at losses. From farmers (which lose around 13ct for every liter milk sold) to small restaurants (often making losses on all of the food, and only minor profit…

7% CC fees? Are you crazy? The EU regulated it at less than 1%.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#474

Post by antihero »

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…

You actually have support for contactless and thusly Apple Pay in a load of places in Berlin, people just don't know about it. The look of shock on the clerk's face when I insisted that yes, I can pay by waving my phone.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#475

Post by antihero »

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…

Contactless workflow:

- You hold your card/device near the screen for about a second

- It authorises in a few secs

- Done

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#476

Post by ksec »

_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…

And I wish we could solves the coin changes from Cash.

I like Paper Cash / Notes. I dont like Coins.

Another Reason I like Debit Card or NFC Recharge Cards like those in Japan is that they actually require me Charge the card first. This action will live in my subconscious how much I have spend. I know this is an unpopular motive in US where they just want you to spend and spend.

And Getting rid of Cash ( The so call Cashless Society ) is like having less freedom in a what is already less free world then before.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#477

Post by kerkeslager »

arvidkahl wrote: post #297
kerkeslager wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can see why this is problematic for the e-commerce industry, but you seem to be saying this is problematic for the economy as a whole. If that's what you're saying, could you provide some justification for this claim?

If you want to see e-commerce as a relevant branch of the economy, it's stifling growth. Funny enough, banks are now charging withdrawing fees for cash. So if you only ever buy things with cash, you will loose money on just acquiring it. Net loss for the non-banking economy.

> If you want to see e-commerce as a relevant branch of the economy

I don't, and I don't see much evidence that anyone outside the e-commerce industry should want to see that.

> Funny enough, banks are now charging withdrawing fees for cash. So if you only ever buy things with cash, you will loose money on just acquiring it. Net loss for the non-banking economy.

It's fairly simple to avoid ATM fees. Every bank and credit union I've ever banked at had a network of ATMs, and there's usually no fee for cash back at grocery stores. In contrast, credit cards always charge a fee to the receiving business. Additionally, many workers receive some or all of their pay in cash, cutting banks out of the equation entirely.

I don't think you can reasonably claim that credit cards take less from the non- banking economy than cash.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#478

Post by herbst »

herbst wrote: post #250
romanovcode wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, almost every store accept touch-pay method where you just touch your CC with the terminal and it is payed without entering pin or providing signature. Only works if the amount is less then 25 EUR but still it is much faster then cash.

This is only true for big chain things. Pretty much everywhere in Europe I've been.

Just gave it a try in budweis, CZ. Only big chains in the supermarkets had these readers.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#479

Post by herbst »

herbst wrote: post #250
romanovcode wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, almost every store accept touch-pay method where you just touch your CC with the terminal and it is payed without entering pin or providing signature. Only works if the amount is less then 25 EUR but still it is much faster then cash.

This is only true for big chain things. Pretty much everywhere in Europe I've been.

Just gave it a try in budweis, CZ. Only big chains in the supermarkets had these readers.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#480

Post by mstade »

true_religion wrote: post #406
romwell wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

In the US, the credit card security comes from the vantage of "it's quite literally.... not your money". If there are any failures in security, the bank pays, thus ease of use is of greatest concern to the consumer. In the USA, its rare that you'd have to sign for anything under $20.

I think maybe this is a cultural thing. In Europe it seems people associate "credit" with "being in debt" which of course isn't (necessarily) true. It just means someone else is on the line until you reconcile, and this is the beauty of credit cards – they make it tremendously easy to safeguard your own money. Just make sure to pay off the bill at the end of the month and everything is solid.

Because of this, credit cards in Europe tend to not have the same great benefits you can find on cards in the US. AMEX is pretty good still, but there isn't exactly tons of competition in the credit card space here.

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