According to a survey by a Munich-based consultancy company, Germany’s love of cash is dwindling, but it’s still more dominant than in most European countries. Apple Pay hasn't conquered the country yet!

Germans still love cash

The German affection for cash isn’t planning on dying out any time soon. A recent survey published by the company Strategy& has revealed that 54 percent of people in Germany are happy to keep paying with their beloved cash. Less than 10 percent choose to pay with their mobile phones.

For those who live in the country, the results are unlikely to come as a surprise, with many restaurants and cafes in Germany still accepting only cash payments. The German love for Bargeld (cash) often leaves newcomers dumbfounded. Ready to charge card purchases to their newly opened bank accounts, many are met with a plain “We only take cash” response from wait staff.

While the old-fashioned method is still going strong, numbers are down since the last survey. In 2018, 61 percent of those asked in Germany said they liked sticking to cash.

Germans love cash more than their European neighbours

Across the 15 countries that were surveyed by Strategy&, the company in Munich found that Germany’s penchant for hard cash was not significantly rivalled by any of its European neighbours.

The opposite end of the spectrum from Germany, cash loving-wise, was only just across the border geographically, with just 17 percent of those asked in Denmark saying they preferred the method. Preference in the Netherlands has also declined since the last survey.

South of another German border, however, the populations of Austria and Switzerland declared themselves as fellow-cash lovers, with 47 and 35 percent respectively saying they were more inclined to stick with old-school methods. Across the continent, the average eagerness to keep paying with cash lay at 37 percent.