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Comment by dx034 | Hacker News Reader

Germany has a very bad banking system, mostly due to the high market share of very small banks that don't want to or cannot adapt quickly.

Here in the UK transfers also arrive within seconds 24/7 and debit cards can be used for online payments. No idea why transfers in Germany need 1-3 days (depending when you submit it) in a time when there's no manual work involved.

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As a Brit I was surprised when I received a reply on Twitter to a blog post I wrote [0] that said:

  ...in Germany nearly 80% of transactions are still cash - lots of places that simply don't take cards

Reading this thread that now makes more sense. We have it pretty good in the UK with contactless and chip & PIN (although I hear the Dutch have it better). I always feel the US is so backwards when I visit and they do the stripe & sign thing.

However, I still think there are many reasons cash should always be accepted. I won't repeat them here as they're covered in the post.

[0]: https://unop.uk/do-you-accept-cash/

The standing joke here is that Germany is a "developing" country when it comes to payment. 10 years ago it would even be difficult to pay with an international credit card.. In Sweden bank transfers are immediate if I use "Swish" and I use cash maybe once a month.

Here in Norway I use cash only at a loppemarked (literally flea market but generally in support of a charity, the local brass band, or sports club). Even these now have payment terminals more often than not, just not enough to go around so it is still quicker with cash.

> I always feel the US is so backwards when I visit and they do the stripe & sign thing.

Nowadays we're switching to chip & sign.

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