SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
from the bills-have-serial-numbers-so-only-use-change dept.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Many Austrians value their privacy and won't accept someone to keep track how many beers they drink. It may sound like a strange thing to enshrine in a country’s constitution: the right to pay cash. But a debate on whether to do just that has entered Austria’s election campaign, shining a light on the country’s love of cold, hard currency.
The Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP, EPP-affiliated) recently made the suggestion as part of its campaign for a parliamentary election in late September, for which it has a commanding poll lead. This led to other parties — though sceptical of the ÖVP’s proposal — vaunting their commitment to protecting cash, with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPÖ) demanding an end to fees levied at cashpoints.
And it is not hard to see why all major parties see protecting cash as a vote-winner.
“In Austria, attitudes change slowly,” an employee of Weinschenke, a burger restaurant in downtown Vienna, told AFP. The woman in her 30s, who only gave her name as Victoria, says she prefers to use cash because “you don’t leave a trace”.
Financial law expert Werner Doralt says Austrians put a high value on privacy and are wary of anything that could be used to keep tabs on them, such as card transactions. “If for example I go shopping, and it’s recorded exactly how much schnapps I’ve bought, that’s an invasion of my privacy,” he says.
A recent survey conducted by the ING bank in 13 European countries, Australia and the US, showed Austrians were the most resistant to the idea of giving up cash payments.
Just 10 percent of those surveyed in Austria said they could imagine doing without cash, compared to a European average of 22%. According to European Central Bank data compiled in 2017, cash accounted for 67% of money spent at points of sale in Austria, compared to just 27% in the Netherlands. Even in neighbouring Germany, another country known for its attachment to cash, the rate is only 55%.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by barista on Thursday September 05 2019, @03:44PM (8 children)
I wonder if loyalty cards or discount cards are a thing in Europe. People can use these cards to get discounts in stores, and their transactions are still tracked, even if they don't use credit cards.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Thursday September 05 2019, @04:22PM
Yes, or at least based on my somewhat extensive travels across most of Europe (both east, central and west) I gather that it's a thing. Most larger chains of stores have some sort of loyalty, discount card or similar system -- since actual physical cards are beginning to be phased out in favor or other things such as an app on your phone, just giving them your phonenumber etc. But at least then you chose to hand over your data in exchange for "bargains" or "discounts".
(Score: 2) by quietus on Thursday September 05 2019, @04:24PM
They're common since at least the nineties. You're not forced to use them, but a good cashier will ask whether you've got yours with you.
(Score: 1, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 05 2019, @05:12PM
There are no "discounts." Supermarkets are thin margin business, so to make extra bucks they wanna sell your info, and to force you to use the card tgey jack up random prices and offer "discount" back to the normal price.
(Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Thursday September 05 2019, @05:58PM
Loyalty cards don't work so good for things that people want to buy anonymously in order to keep their wife / family / boss / pets from finding out.
Buy six XX and your seventh is free!
(substitute embarrassing things like "bong hit", "something job", "abortion", "justin bieber song", etc)
Life altering confession: I break dog treats in half and then pretend with a straight face that each half is actually a whole treat.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 2) by captain normal on Friday September 06 2019, @04:31AM
Yeah, but in the U.S. (at least so far), you don't have to give them your name, address, phone number or email addy. I have a bunch of these cards just for the discounts, and have never once given out my personal info. I grab a new one every few months just to throw stuff like facial recognition off.
When life isn't going right, go left.
(Score: 1, Troll) by driverless on Friday September 06 2019, @08:34AM (2 children)
Austria is an odd place, backed up by the comment in TFA:
The trading laws there are practically medieval, try getting anything there on a Sunday or after 5pm, or even on Saturdays in anything but large commercial venues. There are very limited exceptions allowing trading at international travel areas, but even then you get weird requirements like supermarkets having fenced-off areas where you can't go outside weekday 9-5, or it's partitioned and you have to go through two separate entrances to buy different things. It was weird, like fleishik vs.milkhik but without the clear logic of the kosher laws.
They also take their limited hours very seriously, they'll start shooing people towards the exit at about ten to five, and at 16:59:55 exactly the shutters come down. Over here I've run into stores at night, fifteen minutes after the posted closing time, and the folks at the counter told me to take my time, they were still finishing up.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 06 2019, @08:58AM
Over where, you fucking isomorphic nativist? India? Iceland? Iran or Iraq? Iqbanistan? Where the fuch are you, he who is without a driver? Could you be in Kiribas? Or Tasmeckistan? Two Fucking Holes, Wyoming? We have no idea where your "over here" is, you moron! Fuching give us a clue, or you will be modded down for most likely being a geographically and historically naive American. Most likely you are. Approaching Runaway levels of ignorance and misinformation. The Hurricane is going to hit Alabama, and Arkansaws, and all the states that begin with "A". Just the kind of hurricane Dorian is, the likes of which the Donald has never heard of, from "Over here".
(Score: 2) by driverless on Sunday September 08 2019, @02:36PM
Just out of curiosity, given that the above is a factual description of trading practices in Austria, why was it modded Troll? Just wondering...