In comparison with its neighbors in Austria and Switzerland, the preference for cash is therefore most pronounced in Germany.
(Photo: dpa)
Munich According to a study by the management consultancy Strategy&, cash remains much more popular with German consumers than with consumers in the rest of Europe. According to the 15-country comparison published in Munich on Thursday, cash is the most popular means of payment for 54 percent of consumers in Germany. On average across the 15 nations, only 37 percent said so.
Denmark was at the lower end of the scale, with only 17 percent preferring to pay in cash. Strategy& is part of the international auditing company PwC, the company surveyed a total of 5750 people in 15 countries in September and October.
In a comparison with its neighbors in Austria and Switzerland, the preference for cash is therefore most pronounced in Germany: In Austria, 47 percent prefer cash payment, in the Confederation only a little more than a third (35 percent).
However, cash payments are also gradually losing importance in Germany: In a previous survey in 2018, 61 percent named cash as the preferred means of payment.
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According to this year’s banking survey by management consultants, there is now a not so small minority in Europe who regularly go shopping without a wallet and prefer to pay by mobile phone: on average in the 15 countries it was a good fifth (21 percent), in Germany, however, less than one in ten (nine percent).
Little willingness to open bank accounts for fintech startups
The willingness to open a bank account with fintech startups or the payment services of technology groups such as Apple and Google is therefore still comparatively low in Germany. According to this, 27 percent in the Federal Republic can imagine that. In Austria it was 39 percent, in Switzerland at 48 percent almost half.
The consultants surveyed consumers in Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Ireland and Turkey.
More: Cash upper limit – federal states disagree about the limit of 10,000 euros