Cash is still king throughout Europe, according to a study from November, 2017 by the European Central Bank. People prefer handing out banknotes, especially when it comes to small value payments of around 15 EUR or less.
Yet, “cashless” becomes a preferred choice for more and more merchants and they simply refuse to accept paper money from clients.
Some European countries are literally taking the lead, especially the Netherlands, Sweden, Estonia, Finland and the UK.
Most common places for payments with cards or phones are shops for durable goods, gas stations and booking flights or accommodation, while restaurants and bars are the top choices for spending cash.
Feeling awkward?
If you are a cash person, living in a society trending cashless, chances are you will, sooner or later, fall into a weird situation.
Here are 3 funny money stories to have in mind:
When Jina, almost went to jail
Jina, a 30 year old woman from Poland, is a senior account manager for a large international logistics company. She has the habit of withdrawing her salary in cash because she does not trust banks anymore, and so does her husband.
Loaded with a pile of fresh euro banknotes, Jina went on a family trip to Netherlands last summer. She and her husband took a taxi from the airport to the fancy hotel they booked in the middle of the old city of Amsterdam.
Arriving at their destination, Jina pulled out a 500 Euro banknote and handed it to the driver. To her surprise he seemed worried and outraged!. He asked for smaller bills or for a debit card, frantically explaining how he couldn’t accept 500 Euro banknote from a stranger. Jina and husband started arguing with the driver, insisting that it was their right as European citizens to pay in cash.
Next thing they knew, the driver was making a U-turn and Jina could see the address of a police station on the GPS screen.
Fortunately all ended up well and Jina and her husband made it safe to the hotel. They found iCard digital wallet is the perfect alternative for managing their money. Both passed the identity verification process, got a Standard account and now enjoy their iCard Visa Debit, wherever they are.
When David, almost slept over in the mall
David is a 37 years old auto-mechanic from Germany. He doesn’t mind using a debit card but very often he gets paid from his clients in cash. Few weeks ago he went gift shopping in the nearby Mall.
He quickly found what he was looking for and handed a 200 Euro banknote to the cashier. To his surprise, they didn’t have enough change to give him 135 Euro back. David didn’t have his cards with him, he just grabbed some cash on his way out and he now found himself struck in the mall.
The cashier asked David to go around the other shops and to try to find change. Forty-five minutes later, David had entered every single shop on the floor with no luck. Everywhere he got the same answer – “I am so sorry, but most people pay with cards and we don’t have that much cash to break down a 200 Euro bill.”
David could not leave without the gift because his wife’s birthday party was about to start in only few hours! Finally, he decided to drive back home, get his cards and return to buy the gift. It took him another 3 hours in the traffic jam. Since then, David never leaves the house without his iCard Visa debit.
When Meriam almost starved on her way to Stockholm
Meriam is a 25 years old Phd student in Stockholm. She is a true rebel, unwilling to keep her money in the bank or to live on credit!
Last week, Meriam was on the flight back from her vacation in Eastern Europe. She almost missed the flight as it was very early in the morning and she didn’t have time to have any breakfast. She didn’t eat anything last night either as she fell asleep very early while watching TV.
She grabbed the flight menu, first thing after they took off. That cheesy, juicy burger seemed the perfect choice. Meriam could feel her stomach cramping badly already and couldn’t wait for the flight attendant to arrive. When she finally did arrive, the flight attendant slapped Meriam with the words – “Sorry Miss, but this is a cashless flight.”
Fortunately, a kind young man sitting next to Meriam, saw the pain in her eyes and offered to pay with his iCard debit card and take the cash.
We’ve got your back
Did you know that the iCard digital wallet comes with one free Visa debit card and a free delivery to you? It also has no monthly maintenance fees nor any other shopping related fees!
All you need to do is pass the video identification process and order it directly from the iCard wallet. In fact, you can order more than one iCard Visa debit if you need. Your first will be free, and you’d pay a small one time fee to purchase every additional card.
The iCard Visa Debit will always be linked to your wallet balance. You have the option to fully manage how you spend money with it. For example, you can use the freeze option to lock the card immediately if you are not planning on using it for a long time or if you happen to loose it.
In the card settings, you’ll find options to set daily, weekly and monthly limits, so that you have full control over your spending budget.
Of course the iCard Visa debit is contactless and you can use it at any NFC enabled POS terminal to save precious time on the line.
Large purchases for amounts over 25 Euro are further protected with a PIN.
Take advantage of the iCard Visa debit. ORDER NOW.
Your first one is FREE!
Haven’t installed iCard yet? Get it today!
Чудесна статия, но предполагам не всички ваши клиенти знаят английски, направете опцията и за български текст, тъй като имейлът е на български 🙂
Здравейте Радостин, съвсем скоро ще има и блог на Български! 🙂