Three in four Germans want cashless payment options at every point of sale ⋆

Three in four Germans want cashless payment options at every point of sale

Three quarters of German consumers (74%) want to be able to make digital payments at all shops, restaurants and other retail outlets, with that percentage rising to 87% among 18- to 29-year-olds, according to a survey by the Bitkom digital association. Find out latest news about Germany cashless payments below.

What are non-cash transactions?

The major non-cash payment methods remain credit and debit cards, direct debits, and credit transfers. However, financial technology (fintech) firms have developed a variety of mobile alternatives, though these depend largely on the existing methods. For example, the money transfer and payment service PayPal accepts credit card and bank transfer, and virtual wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and Samsung Pay simply tokenize existing credit cards for more secure transfers.

Younger German people in particular are demanding that all shops, restaurants or other sales outlets have to offer at least one digital payment option. 9 out of 10 (87 percent) of the 18 to 29 year olds support this. For the 30 to 49 year olds it is 75 percent, for the 50 to 64 year olds 76 percent.

And even among senior citizens aged 65 and over, a clear majority of 64 percent is in favor.

A majority of the supporters of all parties currently represented in the Bundestag also support such a demand on the future federal government. Among those of the AfD, 82 percent demand a right to digital payment, with Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen and FDP it is 77 percent each, with the SPD and CDU / CSU each 74 percent.

“We need real freedom of choice when paying,” says Bitkom director Bernhard Rohleder. “It’s not about getting rid of cash, but leaving customers free to decide how they want to pay at any location.

“Nobody should be forced to carry cash with them all the time.”

The survey of just over 1,000 German consumers aged over 18 was conducted in August 2021.

In 2018, 195.4 billion U.S. dollars in non-cash transactions were carried out in Asia-Pacific, higher than any other region. Europe and North America followed, with 192.2 and 170 billion U.S. dollars in transactions respectively. By 2023, Europe is expected to exceed North America, while Asia-Pacific was expected to nearly triple the value of such transactions, exceeding 490 billion U.S. dollars.

The persistence of cash germany cashless

While many countries are increasing the value of cashless payments they process, some are continuing to use cash. Advocates of cash payments argue that it requires no technological investment such as a smartphone, and that cash payments protect privacy by being impossible to track. There may also be an impact of generation on payment methods, but it does not seem to indicate a significant reluctance of older generations to embrace technology.

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