Considering everyone is carrying around wads to pay in cash. Are thieves/muggings a big problem in Germany?
> On average, wallets in Germany hold nearly twice as much cash—about $123 worth
Not worth a mugging in a Western country that doesn't leave its citizens starving.
Also, stolen CC can be turned into cash.
Also, average monthly salary in Germany is $2666. Sounds WAY more profitable to be a pickpocket.
Probable reasons:
We don't have that much poor people here.
The few that are, get social aid from the public/country.
The few that aren't happy with the amount of money they get, can collect bottles, which give you 0,25€ per bottle. Few hours of bottle collecting in a big city is easy money on the side.
So most poor people here can make 10-20€ a day on the side legally.
Food is really cheap in Germany, so people don't have to carry around much money. Most of the time I only have below 50€ on me and only on bigger travels in the country-side I take more.
So I think there is simply no reason to risk getting caught stealing an amount of money you can easily make legally.
By the way, the big costs of daily life, like rent, insurance and the like are not settled using credit cards, cheques or cash, this stuff is all done by bank transfer and has been done by bank transfer since long before credit cards became somewhat established (for occasional use).