Overview
- Berlin’s CDU and SPD factions, reported Thursday by multiple outlets, are drafting a Bundesrat initiative to make card and phone payments mandatory options in shops and venues.
- The proposal keeps cash in use and would allow exemptions where card terminals are not feasible or for micro‑business hardship cases.
- Leaders plan to advance the measure at a Berlin coalition retreat on April 20–21 before seeking support from other states in the Bundesrat.
- Backers say electronic payments create audit trails that deter tax evasion and under‑the‑table wages in cash‑heavy sectors.
- Bavaria’s finance minister responded cautiously, said the state will review details, and stressed that citizens should decide how they pay.