GERMANY, AUSTRIA HANG ONTO CASH AS EUROPE GOES DIGITAL

Survey shows German-speaking nations still prefer banknotes while much of Europe shifts to cards and mobile payments.

A new BearingPoint survey reveals that 73% of Germans and 71% of Austrians regularly use cash, bucking Europe’s growing trend toward digital payments. By contrast, cash use is falling in countries like Sweden (25%), Denmark (32%), and Finland (42%), where mobile wallets and instant card payments dominate.

The survey, conducted by YouGov, also found that few Germans or Austrians avoid cash entirely (2% and 1% respectively), while over a quarter of Europeans expect to stop using cash within the next decade.

Awareness of the digital euro, planned by the European Central Bank for a possible 2029 rollout, remains limited, though authorities stress it will complement cash, not replace it.