Cash supply in Germany is certainly not a problem. Because Germany laughs because cash laughs. In Europe, Germany belongs to the Top5 cash countries. While in Sweden only 15 percent of people pay cash, the situation is completely different in Greece (88 percent) and Spain (87 percent). Germany is in fifth place with as many as 80% of Germans regularly paying cash. The official figures of the Bundesbank look a little different, but still impressively show the love of cash in Germany: on average, every German carries 100 euros cash with him or her and more than 70% of the transactions on POS are cash payments and 48.6 percent of sales are made by card and 48.3 percent by cash (as of 2018).

Cash supply and ATMs in Germany

So far nothing new. What price customers pay for this “luxury” and how absurdly good the supply of cash is in Germany is shown in our new overview “Cash supply in Germany”. We Germans can obtain cash at approximately 57,800 ATMs (as of May 2015). In addition, more than 12,000 stores in Germany can supply themselves with cash via the cash network and about 26,000 stores can supply cash while shopping. In other words: Representatives of the parliamentary group “Only cash is true” need not be afraid, because they have a total of almost 100,000 opportunities in Germany to withdraw money. Also the disadvantages of cash, starting with the fact that every note is a germ mother ship, to the point that it makes no sense to blow up a card terminal, are sufficiently known.

Who pays the price for cash supply and ATMs

Cash supply requires above all cash dispensers. One-time costs are the purchase of cash dispensers. Since you can’t buy them at Media Markt and there are no Amazon Warehouse Deals, they cost something. On the average 20,000 euros. So to ATM. In addition there are monthly operating costs of EUR 2,000…which in the year 24,000 euros constitutes;According to the BKAFor example, about 350 new cash dispensers have to be purchased every year because the old ones have exploded or been blown up. Since the Salvation Army does not provide cash dispensers, these costs are passed on to the customer. It is hard to imagine what costs a largely cashless society would save. Not to mention the CO2 footprint, if you just have to drive to the next cash machine to get money. And even if you don’t drive there by car: you don’t bring fresh money to the ATM with a carrier pigeon.

Conclusion

What is less well known is the cost of an almost complete cash supply in Germany.

We should not be surprised in Germany that so little is paid in cash or ATMs are blown up when there is one on every corner. Customers are asked to pay by card at the latest when the next cash machine is not 100 metres away but 15 kilometres away. Excuse from my hairdresser: Sorry, you can’t pay by card here, but there’s a cash machine in front. As long as we make it so easy for people not only to pay cash, but do not give service providers and merchants a reason to accept cards, it will be a long time before we have a cashless society.

Cash supply via cash pool

approx. 3,200 ATMs in Germany

Members

• Bank for Social Economy, Cologne
• Bank Schilling & Co., Hammelburg
• Bank Bauer, Stuttgart
• Bank J. Faisst, Wolfach
• Bank Max Flessa, Schweinfurt
• Bank Hafner, Augsburg
• Banking house Gebr. Martin, Göppingen
• Bankhaus E. Mayer, Freiburg im Breisgau
• Bank Neelmeyer, Bremen
• Bank C. L. Seeliger, Wolfenbüttel
• Bank Ludwig Sperrer, Freising
• BBBank, Karlsruhe
• Berenberg Bank, Hamburg
• Degussa Bank, Frankfurt am Main
• Thunder & Reuschel, Hamburg
• Princely Castell’s Bank,  Würzburg
• Gabler-Saliter Banking, Obergünzburg
• Merkur Bank, Munich
• National-Bank, Essen
• Oldenburgische Landesbank, Oldenburg (Oldb)
• Pax-Bank, Cologne
• Santander Consumer Bank, Mönchengladbach
• Sparda-Banken (all 11 banks in the network)
• Steyler Bank,  Sankt Augustin
• South West Bank,  Stuttgart
• Targobank, Düsseldorf

Volks- and Raiffeisenbanken 

approx. 18,000 cash dispensers in Germany

Members

All 875 Volks- and Raiffeisenbanken

savings banks

approx. 24,600 cash dispensers in Germany

Members

All 385 Savings banks

ING 

Approx. 1,200 own cash dispensers

ATM working group

Approx. 4,000 ATMs 

Members

• August Lenz Bank
• Cardpoint
• IC Cash Services
• NoteMachine Germany
• transact Electronic Payment Systems

Cash supply via Cash Group

approx. 9,000 ATMs in Germany + 1,300 Shell petrol stations

Members

• German Bank
• DB Private and Corporate Customer Bank
• Postbank
• Norisbank
• Commerzbank
• Comdirect Bank
• Unicredit Bank (Hypovereinsbank)

Cash payment offers cash supply

Cash withdrawal via App at approx. 12,000Branches in Germany, independent of card payment

Members (branches)

• REWE (3,300 stores)
• dm (2,000 branches)
• PENNY (2,148 stores)
• ROSSMANN (2,196 branches)
• real
• OMV (270 petrol stations)
• mobilcom debitel (560 branches)
• Budni (154 branches)
• Ludwig Eckert (63 branches)
• Adams Barbarino (30 Branches)
• toom (330 branches)

Members (banks)

N26
DKB
bunq
BARKS
Sparda Bank
TargoBank
fidor bank
Worms-Alzey-Ried Savings Bank
O2 Banking
Bankomo

Cash supply in retail

In the course of purchasing when paying with Girocard at approx. 26,000 branches

Members (branches)

• Rewe (from purchase value 10 Euro / 3,300 branches)
• Aldi (from purchase value 5 Euro / 4.200 branches)
• Lidl (from purchase value 5 Euro / 3200 branches)
• dm (regardless of purchase value / 2,000 branches)
• Edeka (from purchase value 10 Euro / approx. 11.000 branches)
• Penny (from purchase value 10 Euro / 2.148 branches)
• Globus (from purchase value 10 Euro / 130 branches)