If bandits rob banks because that’s where the money is, then it makes sense to hold up an Apple Store in Germany on the day after a new iPhone is released -- because that’s where the cash is.
Late Saturday afternoon, with would-be iPhone buyers still queuing in front ofApple Inc.’s marble-and-glass emporium on Berlin’s Kurfuerstendamm, three masked gunmen stormed a security company’s van that was hauling away the pile of euros the store had taken in over the weekend.
One reason the outlet had so much cash on hand: Germans are famously behind much of the developed world in credit- and debit-card payments, with cash still used in more than half of money spent in stores. The iPhone 6, released Sept. 19, presents an opportunity for Germans to move toward a cashless future.
Whereas Americans, Scandinavians, French and Italians can buy a cup of coffee or a pack of gum with a card, it’s rare for Germans to use plastic for such payments, and it can be hard to find a cafe or restaurant in Berlin, Munich or Frankfurt that will accept credit cards.
Just 15 percent of retail payments in Germany are made by credit or debit card, the lowest among seven countries studied by the European Central Bank in a paper released in June. In the U.S., by contrast, 45 percent of payments are made by card.
While it’s easy to use plastic at Apple’s Berlin store, it’s not uncommon to see customers pay cash for iPhones or computers costing hundreds of euros. A staff member who answered the phone at the shop declined to make a manager available to comment. Police declined to say whether they had any leads on the identity of the thieves. Apple declined to comment on matters of security at its Berlin store.
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