The Brits Score With Bitcoins, Germans Pay Up & Russia’s Still In The Dark

The payments industry is a compelling space, but it’s a time consuming one as well. You might not have time to keep track of every major story and trend or every funny and fascinating tidbit that we cover on everyone’s favorite payments site.

With that in mind, we bring you What’s In And What’s Out: a weekly look at the best stories from the PYMNTS.com EMEA newsletter, and a bit of light reading before you take off for the weekend.

Make sure to understand What’s In so you avoid being part of What’s Out!

Cheers To British Bitcoins

What’s In: Cambridge University students paying for a round of pints at Haymakers Pub via Bitcoin.

What’s Out: Cambridge University students paying for a round of pints at Haymakers Pub with a load of coins.

And you call yourself a tech major.

What Happened: The Bitcoins are coming! Wait, they’ve already arrived! The first chain of British pubs announced they are now accepting Bitcoin payments in the UK.

Stephen Early, co-founder of Individual Pubs Limited, introduced the country’s first Bitcoin register app at the White Lion pub in Norwich. Since then, the app has been extended to the chain’s pubs in Cambridge, Peterborough and Hackney.

Go on, scan your QR code and enjoy a pint!

Germans Pay A Pretty Penny For Cash

What’s In: Germans understanding the high costs of keeping their country cash-based, and promoting a cashless economy.

What’s Out: German merchants, both small and large, continuing to shoo away customers wanting to use cards for payment.

What Happened: A new MasterCard study revealed that the cost of using cash in Germany doesn’t come cheap. German consumers pay €150 every year to sustain the country’s cash system. In total, the production process to circulate cash in Germany costs €12.5 billion per year.

And listen up shop owners, because you are footing the most expensive bill to sustain cash – €6.7 billion per year to be precise!

Oh, schnapp!


Pulling Back The Curtain In Russia

What’s In: Russian consumers growing to understand the benefits of online banking and electronic transfers. Imagine not having to wait in line only to make a phone payment?

What’s Out: Russian consumers continuing to live in a black hole. To live a life without the wonders of online banking and credit cards is a life not lived. (From the perspective of a payment’s company, anyway.)

What Happened: Russia is taking the spotlight for emerging markets. Businesses old and new are expanding into the payments-naïve country, and attempting to push consumers into a more efficient and reliable payments environment.

Understanding the consumer lifestyle in Russia is integral for penetrating this emerging market, and making sure to deliver the appropriate payment solutions.

Emerging Markets: More Money, More Problems?

What’s In: Financial institutions in emerging markets properly preparing for increased consumer spending and income. Now, more than ever, is the golden opportunity to penetrate the enormously high percentage of unbanked and underserved consumers around the world.

What’s Out: Ignoring the rise in GDP, and continuing to neglect the unique needs of underserved consumers in developing markets. A one-size-fits-all payment solution will not work in these countries. And for the record, financial exclusion was never in.

What Happened: A rise in global GDP should only mean good things for the financial industry and payments, but a recent MasterCard webinar explained their cautionary hypotheses.

Emerging markets such as Egypt are expected to have major GDP increases, which means more consumer spending power. The financial institutions in emerging markets will presumably not have the right tools and financial infrastructure to accommodate these future consumer needs.

It will be up to government organizations and financial institutions to prepare for the rise in disposable income and provide new consumers with adequate banking services.

Who knew an increase in pay could lead to more problems?