Germany’s Passion for Cash Cools on Hygiene Fears in Virus Era

For years, Lauren Lee has offered a revolving mix of delectables drawn from various cuisines—Korean, Indian, American, and more—at Fraulein Kimchi, her Berlin food truck. One thing, though, never changed: Customers had to hand over cash for every bowl of bibimbap or plate of curry. But these days she’s worried about picking up the coronavirus from handling grubby money, so Lee now accepts only cards. “Since I started in 2013, this is the first time I’ve taken noncash payments,” she says. “But we all know money is super dirty.”

Germany—industrial powerhouse, Europe’s biggest economy, and home to the Continent’s finance hub—is among the least carded places in the developed world. Germans complete 75 card transactions per capita annually, vs. 173 in France and 279 in the U.K., according to a report last year by consulting firm McKinsey & Co. For obvious historical reasons, Germans hate the idea of the government being able to track them via spending or any other means, but these days many fret that someone may have coughed or sneezed on the tenner in their pocket.