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2w ago

Supermarket Cashback Use Surges, Prompting Fees Dispute and Privacy Warnings

Retailers are upgrading checkout terminals to handle soaring cash withdrawals under rising processing costs.

Bargeldlos bezahlen in einem Café.
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Supermärkte und Drogerien bieten zunehmend die Möglichkeit, an den Kassen Bargeld abzuheben, was jedoch hinter den Kulissen hohe Kosten verursacht und einen Streit zwischen Handel und Banken entfacht.
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Overview

  • Last year consumers made about 122 million cashback transactions worth €12.31 billion at supermarket checkouts, according to an EHI study.
  • Merchants incurred roughly €17.23 million in cashback processing fees in 2023 and are lobbying banks to waive these charges, a demand banks have declined.
  • Chains like Lidl are upgrading self-checkout systems—expanding Scan & Go with cash-accepting service kiosks—to streamline in-store withdrawals.
  • Consumer advocates warn that PIN-entry at crowded registers and data profiling through loyalty apps heighten security and privacy risks.
  • Industry observers caution that rising demand and shrinking ATM access could trigger tighter withdrawal limits or a rollback of supermarket cashback services.