Why Germans pay cash for almost everything • Hacker News Board

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#491

Post by lobster_johnson » Wed, Aug 09, 2017, 3:31 PM UTC

mgoetzke wrote: post #469

lobster_johnson wrote: post #461

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was in Germany a few days ago. My credit card workflow: - Cashier tells me total amount. - I get my card from my wallet. - I hold the card near the terminal. - 2-3 seconds pass, terminal goes "Approved". - Done. It's easier than cash. Almost every store I went to had wireless card terminals, even coffee shops and supermarkets.

but you have to have a credit card that does that :) I for example don't have one, even though I do have a credit card for travels. Most Germans I know also don't want one because they usually cost extra money. And that is apart from the fact that the entire name 'Kreditkarte' -> credit card, implies one requires credit i.e don't have that money, not an easy sell here. Paying a yearly fee for having to look as if one…

Germans have debit cards, which are also contactless. I never had to enter a pin when doing contactless.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#492

Post by BrandoElFollito » Wed, Aug 09, 2017, 6:23 PM UTC

_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…

- Or you approach your wallet to the reader and pay via NFC.

- Done.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#493

Post by djsumdog » Wed, Aug 09, 2017, 11:39 PM UTC

nonsince wrote: post #273

_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.

I recently moved from the Netherlands, where card is overwhelmingly favoured (at least in Amsterdam and Den Haag, I've never been somewhere that doesn't take card and some places refuse cash) to Berlin, which I think is even more pro-cash than most of Germany. Cash is way slower, and I've now got a couple euros' worth of coppers that are utterly worthless because no-one's going to bother counting them out. In the Net…

It is weird how Germany is still so cash based. Even younger kids will count out coins at grocery stories, and they're convinced it's faster than using a card (their cards do take a while). Most of their cities still use paper train tickets! Many cities are skipping the tap/card systems all together and going straight to phone apps (which I don't really like. My card will always validate if a ticket inspector comes on the train. My phone can run out of battery).

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#494

Post by ant6n » Thu, Aug 10, 2017, 7:54 PM UTC

jdboyd wrote: post #484

ant6n wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As a German I call that theory into question. Our currency has been stable for 60+ years. Also as a German, OUR currency has been stable for 26 years. I'd still question the theory.

Wouldn't it be only 15 years? (Since switching to a new currency)

Re-unification was in 1991.

The Euro transition was stable.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#495

Post by herbst » Fri, Aug 11, 2017, 8:53 AM UTC

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.

Was giving it a try in Salzburg AT for 2 days now. Haven't found a single machine that takes contact less chips so far. Not even big chains

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#496

Post by arvidkahl » Fri, Aug 11, 2017, 2:12 PM UTC

kerkeslager wrote: post #477

arvidkahl wrote: post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 cr…

Not in Germany though. Cash salaries don't exists (outside of temp jobs), cash-back from grocery stores is still new and rare. The ATM withdrawal fees are the actual problem, they have been recently introduced, and they happen no matter which network is being used.

Re: Why Germans pay cash for almost everything

#497

Post by faceplanted » Sun, Aug 20, 2017, 3:43 PM UTC

thesmok wrote: post #489

faceplanted wrote: post #472

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I carry two contactless cards: the metro pass and an office key. They are just taped together (because I want to make sure I always have both) and still reliably work, so I doubt you are protected.

I have tried many times to use a single one of them without the other 5 interfering and it has literally never worked.