opinion poll
Cash or cards are still widely used when paying
Numerous banknotes and bank cards lie in a purse. Photo: Monika Skolimowska/zb/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Cash as well as physical bank and credit cards are still the most popular means of payment among Germans. When it comes to contactless payments, a country in northern Europe is ahead of the game.
According to a survey, people in Germany continue to rely primarily on cash or physical bank and credit cards when paying at the tills.
In a Yougov survey, only 12 percent said they had made a contactless payment with a digital wallet in a store, for example with a smartphone, in the past three months, and not with a physical card. In neighboring France it was also 12 percent. The leader in Europe was Denmark (31 percent). The picture is different in many Asian countries.
Respondents from Hong Kong (53 percent), India (43 percent) and China and Singapore (42 percent each) most frequently stated that they had made contactless mobile payments with a digital wallet once within the past three months.
In Germany, 69 percent of the more than 1,000 respondents said that they had made a cash payment in the same period. The list of 18 markets surveyed is headed by consumers from Singapore (73 percent) and Spain (71 percent). In Great Britain it was also 69 percent. Yougov surveyed more than 20,000 people aged 18+ in 18 markets worldwide in December.