Despite more than half of in-store purchases in Slovakia being paid digitally, an increased interest in using cash for transactions has prompted the expansion of a popular ‘cashback’ service at one the country’s largest retailers.
Grocery chain COOP Jednota, which operates a network of almost 2,000 shops across Slovakia, has been offering a ‘cashback’ service since 2012.
This month, in response to its own research showing a steep rise in use of cash by Slovaks, the company announced it was doubling the amount customers could withdraw from its stores when they make a purchase.
“Since both people’s incomes and living costs are rising, the original limit of €50 euros has proved insufficient,” explained Michal Švrček, Director of the IT and Services Department at COOP Jednota Slovakia. “Therefore, we entered into negotiations with [our partner] banks and raised the limit to double that amount.”
COOP Jednota, which runs the service in cooperation with Unicredit bank and Mastercard, said it was also renaming its service from COOP CashBack to COOP miniBANKOMAT.
The move underlines what many experts say is not just the enduring appeal, and even necessity of holding cash for many people in Slovakia – cash is the preferred, if not only, method of payment, when dealing with tradespeople, at markets, and even paying for school fees - but a growing interest in its use.
