Paying with cash, which is more popular in Germany than in other European countries, is gradually losing importance among Germans, as the population institute Forsa has found from data from a recent survey.
The survey shows that 44 percent of Germans pay with a bank card and 30 percent with cash. But the most popular payment methods now include the digital telephone or smartphone (13%) and the smartwatch or smartwatch (4%), thus reaching a representative share of the 1,732 adults surveyed.
Data collected between September and October this year shows that 23 percent of respondents frequently or at least occasionally use their smartphone or smartwatch to pay for goods or services in stores. In the survey four years ago, this proportion was significantly lower and only reached six percent.
“Digital technologies are increasingly shaping the way we use money,” said Albrecht Kiel, head of Central Europe at credit card issuer Visa.
19 percent of respondents said they avoid stores that only allow cash payments, saying this usually happens in small shops (31%), weekly street markets (26%) and bakeries (20%) be.
According to consumers, the most important thing when paying at the checkout is to do it quickly. 67 percent of those surveyed said this when there were several possible answers.
64 percent of respondents said they want to have a clear overview of their spending. 41 percent said they achieved this control using bank cards, 38 percent said they managed their accounts better when paying with cash, and nine percent said they achieved this by paying with their smartphone.
Germany is mostly recognized in Europe because the custom of paying in cash is retained. According to a study published in Munich in December last year by the consulting firm Strategy&, the use of cash is significantly more popular among German consumers than among citizens of 15 other European countries.