Cash or card? Controversy about payment methods in RLP!

Cash or card? Controversy about payment methods in RLP!

in Rhineland-Palatinate is the payment method in restaurants, pubs and cafés still inconsistent. This ensures different experiences among guests and restaurateurs. Axel Junge, the owner of the Koblenz café coffee boy, only accepts cash payment. He emphasizes the value of analog paying, as this in his opinion promotes direct exchange between customer and the operator. He perceives digital payment as impersonal and wants traditional contact to not be lost.

Junge continues the discussion about cash and digital payment methods by indicating the associated costs. According to SWR Costs the necessary readers and the service flat rates for around 15 to 20 euros per month. In addition, transaction fees are incurred, which vary between 0.3 and 3.5 percent of sales depending on the type of payment. This urges many restaurateurs to rethink digital payment again.

planned legal changes

Despite the current reservations, a mandatory digital payment option for gastronomy businesses could soon become a reality. As part of its legislative period, the Federal Government plans to introduce a regulation that prescribes restaurants and cafés to offer at least a digital payment method, such as card payment. The aim is to give customers the choice whether they want to pay with cash or digitally. One reason for this initiative is to combat tax evasion, which is a major problem in cash intensive areas such as gastronomy.

Florian Köbler, a representative of the German Tax Union, supports this advance, since digital payments leave reliable traces that can contribute to improving transparency. According to Ruhr24 , surveys had already been made in 2021, what had a digital payment option in 2021, shows that the industry is not averse.

The trend towards digital payment methods

The attitude of customers also changes: A survey showed that many young people boycott business with only cash payment. Especially among the 16- to 29-year-olds, almost every second is annoyed by "Cash only" options. This supports the observation that the acceptance of cash in 2023 was 91 percent, while digital payment methods came to 73 percent, according to the Institute for Demoscopy Allensbach.

Nevertheless, the debate about the advantages of both payment methods remains vivid. Georgina Ruppert, operator of the George Café in Mainz, has only accepted card payments for security reasons since September 2023. The Ma’loa franchise chain has also had positive experiences with cashless payment, especially during the challenges of Corona pandemic.

The discussion continues to be conducted from different sides, including by Atilla Gülgen, which runs numerous restaurants. He reports that 90 percent of his guests pay by card, which underlines the growing acceptance of digital payment methods.

While politics is working towards a uniform course, it remains to be seen how the future of payment methods will be in the gastronomic sector. The existing differences in the payment methods show that both cash and digital options have their place in the everyday life of people.

The majority of the gastronomy wants to support freedom of choice for the customer, but the development towards more digital options seems essential to meet future challenges.

Further information on the topic can be found on SPIEGEL .