Money Talk Money in Germany mostly means real money, good old cash.
Cash is used more commonly than any other payment method in Germany.
Credit cards are accepted by many places, for example car rental agencies, airlines, almost all hotels, many gasoline stations, restaurants and bigger stores in bigger towns, but often frowned upon for small purchases. Many, mainly smaller, businesses won't accept credit cards because of their billing costs, so you better ask before you have to pawn your firstborn because you don't have cash on you. You usually them from almost any European bank if you have an account there and fulfill certain conditions, similar to those for obtaining a credit card. Payment is guaranteed up to 400,- DM or the equivalent value in a different currency, but frequently higher sums are accepted when you present some form of identification. You can also get cash from ATMs with an EC card for between 0 and 4 DM per transaction.