Cash payments still in vogue

Cash payments have slightly lost in importance in Germany in recent years, a new study by the country's central bank showed on Wednesday. But while this may be so, the majority of Germans still preferred not to use debit or credit cards in paying for goods or services, the survey revealed.

"The end to coins and banknotes is not yet in sight in Germany," said the Bundesbank's Carl-Ludwig Thiele. "Fifty-three percent of all revenues for goods and services are paid in cash, meaning it's still the best-loved form of payment in the country," Thiele explained. He added, though, that back in 2008 the corresponding rate stood at 58 percent, indicating a slight, but steady decline over the years.

The Bundesbank study said the over 2,000 households polled made it clear that a big proportion of inhabitants deemed banknotes and coins safer to use and completely anonymous.

Mistrust of electronic payments

If not measured in terms of total revenue, but in terms of the total number of payments made, Germans' continued love for cash became even more obvious, with more than 82 percent of transactions involving cash payments.

Debit or credit cards are typically only used in payments over 500 euros ($656). The survey also found that a disproportionately high number of cash payments are made by Germans under the age of 25 or aged above 55.

The Bundesbank stated that Germans carried with them an average of 103 euros, with an average of 5.90 euros in coins. Back in 2008, they still had an average of 118 euros in their pockets. Whether the slight decline was a result of the protracted debt crisis on the continent could not be verified in the poll.

hg/jr (dpa, Reuters)