Little by little, Germans look beyond cash to shop

Berlin

TOURISTS and business travellers visiting Germany are often surprised when they reach to pay for their beer, metro tickets or even a large restaurant bill that their credit cards are not welcome.

Habits, however, are slowly changing in Europe's top economy, as younger consumers leapfrog from cash to convenient electronic forms of payment.

A deeply ingrained mistrust of credit has long kept cash king in Germany, where the average citizen carries 103 euros (S$155) in their pocket.

"Cards have long been …