The technology retailer Gravis will in future only offer card payments in its 40 stores in Germany – regardless of the purchase value.
Other large retailers are unlikely to follow suit.
Munich – Cash is still the most commonly used means of payment at the till, according to a study by the European Central Bank (ECB) published in December.
However, in terms of value, card payments surpassed bills and coins in the euro area for the first time.
The corona pandemic has accelerated the trend towards electronic means of payment.
A majority of consumers now prefer electronic means of payment.
Technology dealer Gravis only offers card payment
The technology retailer Gravis has reacted to this: In the future, it will only offer card payments – regardless of the purchase value.
The company confirmed this to
Spiegel
.
The technology retailer, who works closely with Apple, has 40 stores in Germany.
One reason for the decision: according to the retailer, the number of customers paying with cash is in the "low single-digit percentage," according to the magazine.
For larger companies, the benefits of paying by card over cash are obvious: it's cheaper and has insurance benefits.
“Every evening, cash registers have to be made in shops, money checked for counterfeit money, money taken to the bank and so on,” explains Jürgen Moormann, professor of bank and process management at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, to
Capital
.
Things are only different for small businesses such as a bakery: they sometimes do not want to spend money on card readers and transaction costs.
Supermarkets and electronics retailers are sticking to cash payments
Does that mean that consumers are increasingly unable to pay in cash at large retailers?
The tech magazine
chip.de
asked and found out: All large supermarket chains such as Rewe, Penny Netto, Kaufland, Aldi Nord and Edeka want to continue to offer their customers the option of paying in cash.
Thomas Bonrath, spokesman for the Rewe Group, told the magazine: “Cash is becoming less important, but it is still the second most popular form of payment. For us as retailers, 'digital' versions also have handling and insurance advantages.
Ultimately, however, it is important to us to let our customers decide how they want to pay.
Which is why we will continue to offer as many payment methods as possible in the future – i.e. cash payment as well.”
The situation is similar for electronics retailers such as MediaMarktSaturn.
Cash payments should also remain in place here.
Euronics and Expert told
chip.de
that the individual retailers of the brands are free to choose the payment options, but there is a recommendation to offer cash payments.
With material from the dpa
