"Card obligation" in the beer garden? What the new obligation to pay in restaurants really means

The end of "cash is king"? What the federal government is now planning

Imagine you're sitting comfortably in a beer garden, enjoying your schnitzel - and when you go to pay, you're suddenly told: "Card only, please." Or vice versa: "Cash only." Both could soon be history, as the German government is planning a new rule for all restaurants: digital payment options are to become mandatory.

The SPD and the CDU/CSU want every customer to be able to decide for themselves whether they want to pay by card, app or cash. That sounds like freedom at first - but in reality it is digital coercion for the hospitality industry.

Tax trick or service offensive? Why the government wants digital

The official message is that guests should have more convenience and no longer end up annoyed at the cash machine. But between the lines, a different tone resonates: Fighting tax evasion.
Because if you only accept cash, it is - theoretically - easier to "forget" sales. Digital payments can be traced. For Florian Köbler, head of the German Tax Union, this is clear:

"If everyone paid by card, tax revenues would be much higher."

Sounds logical - but also like mistrust of an entire industry.

But haven't most companies been using digital payment methods for a long time?

Reality shows: The change is already here. According to Mastercard, 88% of restaurants were already offering digital payment options in 2021. And the trend is rising. Young people in particular avoid businesses that only accept cash - according to the study, one in three 16- to 29-year-olds even explicitly boycott "cash only" stores.

But although many people can pay by card, it is still far from being a law. This is exactly what is about to change.

DEHOGA warns: Mandatory yes - but not at any price

Some members of the hospitality industry are skeptical. The German Hotel and Restaurant Association DEHOGA supports modern payment methods, but warns:
Digital infrastructure, fees charged by payment service providers and technical equipment are not at the same level everywhere. Small businesses in particular could suffer as a result.
Ingrid Hartges, Managing Director of DEHOGA, puts it in a nutshell:

"Freedom of choice in payment transactions is a valuable asset."

Which means: The guests should be allowed to choose - not the legislator.

Between freedom and control, who pays is often overlooked

This discussion is typically German. On the one hand, politicians are calling for digitalization, but on the other, they hesitate when it comes to concrete action. And now the hospitality industry is supposed to fix what the state cannot properly control?

Of course tax evasion is a problem. But the solution must not be to place all businesses under general suspicion. A digital payment obligation is not a problem - if the state also guarantees the infrastructure, the technology and fair fees. Otherwise it will quickly become expensive for small pubs in the countryside.

Our proposal: No obligation, but a legal entitlement for guests. Anyone who wants to pay digitally should be allowed to do so. But please without a bureaucratic monster for landlords.