6 ms·

A good friend of mine is German. She moved out of the country a couple of years back because it was crammed with backwards ideologies and Ludditism to use her o

by hvgk 5y ago

A good friend of mine is German. She moved out of the country a couple of years back because it was crammed with backwards ideologies and Ludditism to use her own words. Her father ran a small shop which went bankrupt because he was closed at lunch times and weekends (when everyone wanted to go in there) and only took cash and this was everyone else’s fault apparently. She came here (UK) and was surprised you could actually pay pretty much anywhere with a phone for example and says we live in a technology utopia compared to there.

silvester23 5y ago
Regarding cash payments, things have slightly improved due to covid. Many places that did not use to accept cards/phones now do but there's still a ways to go. And then of course there are many smaller places that only accept cash payments for the same reason they only enter half of your order into their cash register.
- helloguillecl 5y ago
  Oh yes it has improved a bit... If you happen to be paying paying at least 10 EUR :), otherwise you'd be bellow the mindestbetrag
  - tetris11 5y ago
    That's the same as the UK though. Corner shops lose money if the total purchase is less than 10 GBP
    - hvgk 5y ago
      They don’t because everything costs much more in them.
      - carlmr 5y ago
        Yes, you have to compare to lost sales, but then again people in Germany are used to carry cash, so lost sales is maybe low enough not to matter.
f6v 5y ago
Nur Bar ist wahr! I’m in Denmark now and don’t carry any cash with me. In Germany, I could forget about getting lunch with that attitude.
- dgellow 5y ago
  That changed a lot since 2020. I regularly pay small things, like franzbrötchen, with my Apple Watch (that was not always possible before). At least in Hamburg it is now possible to use a card/contact-less payment almost everywhere. I only use cash for public transports.
- Merem 5y ago
  "Nur Bares ist Wahres"...and it's true. With cash you have full control of the money while with some CC or phone you rely on third parties. Not to mention the privacy and data issues. It's always "funny" when people whine about that or how their CC got compromised, despite it being their choice.
  - ChuckNorris89 5y ago
    >"Nur Bares ist Wahres"...and it's true. With cash you have full control of the money Well nobody said cash payments should be banned, but it sucks when cash is the only way to pay in some places, meaning I always have to carry a bulky wallet filled with banknotes and coins just in case the bar, restaurant, shop, cafe, deli, parking meter or whatever, does not accept digital payments. I also used cash for buying greens since that's not yet legalized, but for everything else that's been legal for over 100 years already, please accept digital payments.
  - hvgk 5y ago
    Cash is far less secure. There’s no transaction history, it’s easy to lose, easy to damage and difficult to exchange. People forget the only thing that is important is the exchange not the material used to do so. It’s all promises at the end of the day.
    - raverbashing 5y ago
josefx 5y ago
> Her father ran a small shop which went bankrupt because he was closed at lunch times and weekends That only means that her father was crazy, I don't know a single shop that closes during lunch time. The smaller places I know intentionally shift their opening hours to explicitly open early, during lunch or during closing hours. > and only took cash Afaik most electronic payment providers require that you hide their transaction fees in the normal price, so a shop that doesn't offer electronic payments can be cheaper. However most places support contact less payments so that must have been some years ago.
- oreilles 5y ago
  In France and probably most of western Europe too, business being closed between 12 and 2 is very much standard. Those people gotta eat too.
Notanothertoo 5y ago
Ironic because a lot of left leaning US folk think it is a utopia. I think the culture around employment contracts preventing people from quiting when they want, penalty free, and the letter of recommendation requirements from a previous employer are insane. Seems like you would really have to go above and beyond to not get screwed on your next job by a bitter ex employer. Also find the gov owning large shares in the private sector (Volvo.. Ect) to be a conflict of interest and may encourage them to bypass emissions laws for example. Just seems like a lot of institutional trust.

by hvgk 5y ago

silvester23 5y ago

Regarding cash payments, things have slightly improved due to covid. Many places that did not use to accept cards/phones now do but there's still a ways to go. And then of course there are many smaller places that only accept cash payments for the same reason they only enter half of your order into their cash register.

helloguillecl 5y ago
Oh yes it has improved a bit... If you happen to be paying paying at least 10 EUR :), otherwise you'd be bellow the mindestbetrag
- tetris11 5y ago
  That's the same as the UK though. Corner shops lose money if the total purchase is less than 10 GBP
  - hvgk 5y ago
    They don’t because everything costs much more in them.
    - carlmr 5y ago
      Yes, you have to compare to lost sales, but then again people in Germany are used to carry cash, so lost sales is maybe low enough not to matter.

f6v 5y ago

Nur Bar ist wahr! I’m in Denmark now and don’t carry any cash with me. In Germany, I could forget about getting lunch with that attitude.

dgellow 5y ago
That changed a lot since 2020. I regularly pay small things, like franzbrötchen, with my Apple Watch (that was not always possible before). At least in Hamburg it is now possible to use a card/contact-less payment almost everywhere. I only use cash for public transports.
Merem 5y ago
"Nur Bares ist Wahres"...and it's true. With cash you have full control of the money while with some CC or phone you rely on third parties. Not to mention the privacy and data issues. It's always "funny" when people whine about that or how their CC got compromised, despite it being their choice.
- ChuckNorris89 5y ago
  >"Nur Bares ist Wahres"...and it's true. With cash you have full control of the money Well nobody said cash payments should be banned, but it sucks when cash is the only way to pay in some places, meaning I always have to carry a bulky wallet filled with banknotes and coins just in case the bar, restaurant, shop, cafe, deli, parking meter or whatever, does not accept digital payments. I also used cash for buying greens since that's not yet legalized, but for everything else that's been legal for over 100 years already, please accept digital payments.
- hvgk 5y ago
  Cash is far less secure. There’s no transaction history, it’s easy to lose, easy to damage and difficult to exchange. People forget the only thing that is important is the exchange not the material used to do so. It’s all promises at the end of the day.
  - raverbashing 5y ago

josefx 5y ago

> Her father ran a small shop which went bankrupt because he was closed at lunch times and weekends That only means that her father was crazy, I don't know a single shop that closes during lunch time. The smaller places I know intentionally shift their opening hours to explicitly open early, during lunch or during closing hours. > and only took cash Afaik most electronic payment providers require that you hide their transaction fees in the normal price, so a shop that doesn't offer electronic payments can be cheaper. However most places support contact less payments so that must have been some years ago.

oreilles 5y ago
In France and probably most of western Europe too, business being closed between 12 and 2 is very much standard. Those people gotta eat too.

Notanothertoo 5y ago

Ironic because a lot of left leaning US folk think it is a utopia. I think the culture around employment contracts preventing people from quiting when they want, penalty free, and the letter of recommendation requirements from a previous employer are insane. Seems like you would really have to go above and beyond to not get screwed on your next job by a bitter ex employer. Also find the gov owning large shares in the private sector (Volvo.. Ect) to be a conflict of interest and may encourage them to bypass emissions laws for example. Just seems like a lot of institutional trust.