Finance & economics | Europe’s disappearing cash

Emptying the tills

Some Europeans are more attached to notes and coins than others

|STOCKHOLM

ONLY tourists pay in cash, says the young barista in Espresso House, a Swedish coffee chain, on Vasagatan in Stockholm. “They don’t understand we don’t use that anymore,” she rolls her eyes, gesturing to the card machine. The contactless “taps” that locals use are much faster, and she frequently runs out of change when foreigners bring large-denomination notes, fresh from the ATM.

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Emptying the tills”

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