2024-08-06 14:11:33
Cash is still often the dominant payment method in German ice cream parlors and other shops, even though electronic payment methods would be faster and more efficient. Let’s try it out for ourselves.
When I took a trip to Büsum on the North Sea in Schleswig-Holstein last weekend and was looking for an ice cream parlor where I could pay by card, my prejudices were confirmed once again. Germans have a fetish and it’s called cash.
The result of my search in the spa town, which has a population of just under 5,000 and is becoming increasingly more fashionable for a younger audience, was not surprising. The first shop I came across had a sign with a crossed-out EC symbol hanging on the window – conveying a subliminal message: Cash is king.
In the next two shops, I had to push my way past the queue in what felt like 35 degrees in the sun and ask if I could pay with a card. Quietly, otherwise someone might think I didn’t have enough change for an ice cream. But: I actually don’t have enough change for an ice cream, at most one euro for the Sanifair toilets at motorway service stations or train stations.
It was only in the fifth ice cream shop that there was a payment device, and only after I had to ask for it. Cash is generally required. But that has to stop. The digital association Bitkom recently called for this. And rightly so. No more “cash only” in Germany.
All shops need to become more digital when it comes to payment options – or we’ll miss the boat here too. But what’s the problem for these shops that don’t want to sell me ice cream without a card payment?
The ice cream parlors in Büsum are not isolated cases – perhaps because it is a tourist destination or because the average age of visitors there is 60. Do tourists really always carry cash and do older people have a problem trusting digital payment systems? In the metropolis of Hamburg alone, I could name a few dozen shops in Altona, St. Pauli or in Schanze that only accept cash. And tourists of all ages from all over the world shop here.
Unfortunately, when I go to these shops that insist on cash, the first thing that comes to mind is: even if there is a receipt, how do I know whether everything is taxed legally? Not that it’s any of my business. Succumbing to the temptation to avoid paying a few euros due to the high price increases during the crisis years is only human – but it’s anything but fair. Fortunately or unfortunately for me personally, I’m not the only one who is annoyed by cash fetishism.
The digital association Bitkom referred to the ridicule and malice of tourists during the European Football Championship. Football fans from England, Italy, Belgium and Romania were irritated when they were refused payment by card or smartphone in a pub or kiosk, explained Bitkom President Ralf Wintergerst.
I don’t insist on “digital payment only”. But to ensure freedom of choice when paying at the cash register, not only cash should be possible, but digital payment options should also be available.
I can only agree completely: freedom of choice does not mean the abolition of cash, but an alternative to notes and coins. It is about more than just more convenience at the checkout – the expansion of digital payment methods is “a catalyst that drives the necessary digitalization of Germany,” Wintergerst continued.
I did the math: Ice cream sellers in Büsum would have to pay between 1.5 and 3.5 percent to a payment service provider such as Adyen, Worldline or Sumup for a surprise cone with three scoops of ice cream, cream and chocolate sauce for 7.50 euros if I were allowed to pay by credit card. The amount to be paid is between 11 and 26 cents. When paying with an EC or debit card, the fees are on average only 0.2 to 1.5 percent – so the bottom line is between 1.5 and 11 cents.
Instead of selling me a grab bag for 7.39 euros instead of 7.50 euros, they decided to completely forgo the deal with me as a card payer. Digital transactions are not only quick – even compared to the hassle of picking out crumpled notes and dirty coins from your wallet or looking for change – but also transparent.