Overview
- The Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband on Monday publicly accused card-payment terminals of using manipulative design tricks and called for an EU-level ban, citing a Forsa survey commissioned by the group.
- The complaint details how terminals often show large, colored percent buttons (for example 7, 10, 15, 20 or even 25 percent) while the option to give no tip or enter a custom amount is harder to find.
- Hospitality trade group Dehoga defended cashless tip prompts as a practical way to express thanks and said tipping must remain voluntary, while the NGG union said digital tips must be fully transparent and traceable to staff.
- Polling evidence underpins the dispute: the Forsa survey found 76 percent want 'no tip' to be as visible as presets and a majority said prominent percentages make them feel pressured, and a spring Bitkom survey showed 64 percent believe suggested amounts raise tip levels.
- The debate sits at the crossroads of a wider move to cashless payments and growing rules on so-called dark patterns, with possible regulatory follow-up that could change terminal software, affect consumer costs, and require clearer rules on how tips reach workers.