
Why Germans pay cash for almost everything (2014) - okket
http://qz.com/262595/why-germans-pay-cash-for-almost-everything/
======
pmoriarty
_" On average, wallets in Germany hold nearly twice as much cash--about $123
worth--as those in Australia, the US, France and Holland"_

One issue that's not mentioned in the article is safety of carrying cash
compared to carrying credit cards.

In the US, at least, protected against credit card theft and fraud, but there
is not such protection for cash. Add this fact to the relatively high crime
rate in most urban areas in the US, and the fact that most people live in
cities, it's not very prudent to carry much cash around.

Holland is much safer than the US, so that explanation does not fit there. I'd
expect France and Australia are pretty safe too. It would be interesting to
compare German cash use to Scandanavian countries, however.

 _" People in countries that suffered banking crises quite sensibly often
prefer to save in cash--though typically in foreign currencies such as US
dollars--rather than put money in the bank."_

Why not buy gold instead?

~~~
dalke
"Sweden moving towards cashless economy" \-
[http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sweden-moving-towards-
cashless-e...](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sweden-moving-towards-cashless-
economy/)

"Sweden close to being a cashless society" \- Four out of five purchases in
Sweden are made electronically or by debit card. With the development of
cheaper technology, the country is moving towards a cash free society,
according to a new report. "Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia leads the world
in terms of cashless trading," said Bengt Nilervall at the Swedish Federation
of Trade (Svensk Handel). - [http://www.thelocal.se/20141012/sweden-close-to-
being-cashle...](http://www.thelocal.se/20141012/sweden-close-to-being-
cashless-society-report)

