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I'm not sure Germany is a good example. I am now living in west Germany, people simply prefer using cash. Unlike in Sweden, where I also lived, where they want to get rid of it soon. Many services are simply not available without a credit card (eg.: at T-Mobile store).

But I second you on the cloud computing and SaaS - I want the programs to run on my machine. And off-line.

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In most countries there is a legal rule that establishes cash, which says something along the lines of :

Currency notes must be accepted as payment for all debts, public and private.

This means not accepting cash is actually illegal. This has been relaxed a bit, in that refusing to take a 500 euro note for a .5 euro purchase is permitted, but either refusing to sell to someone who wants to pay cash or not accepting cash after the sale is not legal.

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