With new shop door stickers, the Bundesbank has started advertising the use of cash. The messages on the stickers read “Of course, and cash!” or “Simple.Cash.”, and merchants can now get them for free.
“Cash stickers signal to customers that cash is welcome,” said Bundesbank board member Burkhart Balz, who is also chairman of the National Cash Forum.
The labels, which include a neutral version without text, should be placed alongside similar labels for credit cards and other payment service providers.
Individuals can also order stickers for free through the Cash Forum.
Balz explains that cash remains an indispensable part of the payment infrastructure.
Despite the significant decline, cash is still widely used in Germany. In 2023, more than half of the transactions at cash registers in stores were in cash.
Baltz emphasized the importance of cash in times of crisis. “Cash can be used independently of technology, electricity and the Internet.”
In the first crisis exercise, Cash Forum simulated the increased demand for cash caused by social networks, reports SEEbiz.
A complete shutdown of all credit and debit cards of the two main service providers, Visa and Mastercard, was also simulated.
The exercise showed that crisis communication structures should be further improved.
The scenarios also clearly showed how important initiatives are for a European digital means of payment, such as Wera or in the future the digital euro.
