Bye Cash: in 2018 for the first time Germans bought more with a card

[steve2470]

https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Tschuess-Bargeld-Deutsche-kauften-2018-erstmals-mehr-mit-Karte-ein-4415881.html

(Google Translate version of first 4 paragraphs)

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&tab=TT&sl=de&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.heise.de%2Fnewsticker%2Fmeldung%2FTschuess-Bargeld-Deutsche-kauften-2018-erstmals-mehr-mit-Karte-ein-4415881.html

Consumers in Germany increasingly use the card instead of cash when paying. For the first time last year in stationary retail, more money was paid by giro card and credit card
issued as in cash, said the Handelsforschungsinstitut EHI on Tuesday in Cologne .

Overall, consumers in the 2019 study "Card-based payment systems in the retail sector" said they paid well over € 209 billion per card in 2018 - € 12.4 billion more than in the previous year. As a result, the share of sales generated by the cards rose to 48.6 percent. Thus, the card overtook the cash for the first time - if only barely.

For bar "invoices" in the amount of approximately 208 billion euros were paid, which corresponds to a turnover share of 48.3 percent. The remaining 3.1 percent was spread across invoices, financial purchases and vouchers. For comparison: In 2017, half of all sales had been paid in cash.

But even if the importance of cash payment decreases, this does not mean that customers will soon only pay with the card or smartphone. According to EHI, cash is still the first choice as a means of payment, especially with small sums - also because cash payments should be faster than card payments . Thus, in 2018, 76.1 percent of the approximately 20 billion purchases in the retail sector were paid in cash, reported the EHI. But even here lose cash on the ground: The proportion has shrunk compared to 2017 by 1.1 percent

*end of short article*

This is such a big deal because, ever since the hyperinflation of 1923, Germans have used cash usually. At least that's the explanation I read.

[stuffmatters]

1. I lived in Austria and Germany in 1963-64.Bank would emergency call even for a check!

[not_the_one]

2. if they would get that god shit off my money

I would be inclined to use it more.

As it is I have a backup stash of 100, for emergencies where I can't use my debt card.

And I use my debit card TO DEATH.

So much easier and lots more convenient. I keep it, and all my cards, in those little RFID holders.