As of: March 13, 2024, 5:35 a.m
By: Josef Ametsbichler
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Money for goods: This classic sales scene is on the decline.
Customers are increasingly paying small amounts using their card, cell phone or smartwatch.
(Symbolic image) © Sina Schuldt
In the Ebersberg district, cash is becoming less and less common, especially for larger sums.
Bills are preferred to be paid digitally.
But there are exceptions.
District
- Only cash is truth - this no longer applies to more expensive purchases in the Ebersberg district.
The higher the bill, the more likely customers are to pay with a card or, even better, by bank transfer to local sellers or service providers.
But there are exceptions.
The undertaker: “I’m not defending myself”
Two or three times a year it happens that someone pays for her funeral in cash, says Angela Imhoff, a funeral director in Grafing.
The money never sits in the cash register for long.
“For us, the bank is right next door, so we go over there and pay it in straight away.” Receipt, deposit, correct entry: “It’s very time-consuming for us,” says Imhoff.
“But I don’t defend myself against it.” After all, it still sometimes happens that grandma has money in an envelope under the mattress.
“If I ever died…” is a saying that would be used to warn the descendants.
The undertaker believes that this should be respected. She says that she also heard these words from her own mother.
However, in the end she probably lost track of things and had already spent the money.
It's a story that Imhoff likes to tell because it still touches on her mother's care, even if it turned out differently than expected.
This type of payment is now “very, very rare”, probably because there are not many people left from the development generation, whose desire for pension provision dates back to the post-war period.
The car dealer: “Here in holy Ebersberg...”
It used to happen that a car buyer would put 20,000 D-Mark or sometimes even Euro banknotes on the advisor's table for a new car, remembers Paul Eichhorn from the Opel car dealership of the same name in Ebersberg.
“But that was a long time ago.” After all, cars are now priced completely differently.
“We prefer to transfer people,” says the car dealer.
In addition, his company must strictly adhere to the Money Laundering Act - and maintain a certain level of suspicion when it comes to counterfeit money.
“When people from far away buy a car over the Internet, as a careful businessman you actually have to go to the bank with the customer to make a deposit,” jokes Eichhorn.
But he was never cheated: “Here in holy Ebersberg, everything is still in order,” he says and laughs.
In any case, cash payments are only possible for used cars up to 10,000 euros, and more likely only up to 5,000 euros.
And in this area too, most customers have long preferred cashless payments.
Most new cars are financed with loans or leased anyway.
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The jewelry dealer: “People don’t want to be looked at”
Daniela Piller recently sold wedding rings for around 1,500 euros to a young couple who wanted to pay in cash.
“Cash payments have become less, but they are still there – even for the more expensive things,” says the head of the family business in Markt Schwaben, which sells watches, jewelry and glasses.
Customers come once or twice a week and pay for purchases worth more than 500 euros from the bill compartment.
“We have a safe and get the money into the bank quickly, it’s no hassle for us,” says the shop operator.
“We keep hearing that people don’t want to be able to see what they are buying, where and when,” says Piller about the complete traceability of transfer transactions.
This is particularly important for older customers.
And finally, there are sometimes purchases that are supposed to be a surprise, for example for your partner, and therefore shouldn't be shown on the bank statement.
“Of course we have a duty of confidentiality,” says Piller with a smile.
She is rather surprised that sometimes even small amounts of a few euros are paid by card - the fees are borne by the retailer.
“But we do it because we also want to offer this service,” says the dealer.
The local tour operator and the seniors: “It’s like a general store”
(By the way: Everything from the region is now also available in our regular Ebersberg newsletter.)
For 19 euros to the Tölz Easter market or for 825 euros to go to Hungary for a week's treatment - the Reisberger bus company still has them, the customers who, before they set off, show up at the office in Frauenneuharting at some point and pick up the necessary notes and coins for the ride counts the table.
The boss, Christian Reisberger, estimates that the cash business accounts for a good third of sales for higher-priced trips.
“Usually there is a voucher involved.”
The bus driver only collects the smaller amounts - on day trips, cash payment is the rule rather than the exception.
“It's easiest and safest there,” he says – “and the bus driver might be happy about a small tip.” His wife Regina explains the cash withdrawal with the target group, most of whom come directly from the area has often faithfully boarded the Reisberger buses for many years: “The older people want contact with us.
It's like a general store.” The grandchildren often also take over the transfers.
The bus operator says he doesn't offer a card terminal: "Too little demand, too high costs."
However, Reisberger also emphasizes when it comes to higher-priced trips: “We prefer it when people transfer money.” But he understands if older people in particular would be put off by typing in the long IBAN account numbers.
“Only cash is truth,” he adds, adding a saying that doesn’t seem to be getting the better of many people.
“The best way to know what you’ve spent is to see what’s left in your wallet.”
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