About 79% of point-of-sale transactions were done in cash. The rate in Germany is above the average, trailing at 80%, in spite of ECB’s decision to withdraw 500 euro notes in an attempt to draw consumers away from cash payments.
In Sweden, cash payments are only used in about 15% of POS transactions, according to data from Riksbank. The Dutch and the Estonians used cash the least in the euro zone in 2016, with less than half of transactions in cash.
Cash is so vital in the euro zone that the average consumer carries 65 euros in their wallet with Germans holding over 100 at any one time.
ECB, however, noted the potential effect that contactless payments could have on cash-usage. By providing a simple, fast and reliable way to pay, NFC cards could become widely used for small value purchases. In spite of this, just 1% of sales have been made via contactless cards.
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