Cash payment could make a comeback because it offers an undeniable advantage.
The French’s wallets are fuller. In the proper sense of the term. While the cost of living makes making ends meet more difficult for many households, the French seem to have a renewed interest in cash. More cash has been withdrawn since the start of the year and there is good reason for that.
Faced with soaring prices and the difficulty of controlling your budget by paying by card, stocking your wallet with coins and notes allows you to know exactly where you stand in your spending and to think carefully about each purchase. “We have more and more customers who are building up cash envelopes to better control their spending in the current context,” confirms a banking executive at the Echoes.
But that’s not all. Cash can also boast a particularly attractive advantage for consumers and merchants: it can lower prices at checkout. In recent weeks, merchants have expressed concern about the increased costs they must bear when a payment is made by credit card.
Between the rental of the box and transaction fees, this represents several hundred euros each month. A real burden, especially for small businesses. Companies already include these costs in their costs, and therefore in the prices they charge. They cannot ask a customer to pay extra if they pay by credit card: the law formally prohibits it.
On the other hand, this same law authorizes another mechanism: that of lowering the price depending on the means of payment used. Concretely, for a product sold for €10, a reduction of €1 (or other) can be applied if the purchase is paid in cash. However, this device must be clearly displayed in the store.
The practice is not widespread in France (due to lack of information?) but is already established in various countries. This is particularly the case in Germany. In Ravensburg, near Lake Constance, a restaurant offers a 5% discount if the bill is paid in cash. The objective: to reduce its fees for Visa and Mastercard, as he explains in Frankfurter Allgemeine. In the United States, several restaurants do this, notably in New York: one of them offers a 15% discount for payment in cash, reports the Wall Street Journal.
While more than 80% of French people have drastically reduced their “leisure” spending (restaurants, cinema, etc.), but also on other aspects (food, clothing in particular), this lever for a reduction when paying in cash could be attractive. With a significant limit: that all income received is not declared for taxes.