Instead, it says that one of "the digital means of payment available and used on the market" should be permissible.

But — and this news could be of interest to travelers from less cash-crazed neighbors like the Netherlands — at least one European method of digital payment should be accepted, rather than means available only to German residents. 

The paper would only apply to commercial businesses. Non-commercial enterprises like clubs or charities would not necessarily be bound by it. 

In its argumentation, the government notes how digital payment rather than cash can help combat tax evasion, money laundering and other financial crimes. 

According to Germany's Bundesbank, non-cash payment is now the most popular method at the point of sale. In 2025, 55% of point-of-sale transactions did not involve cash changing hands. 

YouTube duo angers viewers with crass rented elephant livestream

Two moderately successful German YouTubers have upset viewers and animal rights groups alike with a livestream featuring a rented elephant.

In the roughly 15-minute clip, which has since been deleted, the 23-year-old men filmed the vast mammal and encouraged it to dance, perform tricks and play with a scarf, among other things.

They paid €3,500 (roughly $4,000) to rent the access to the 40-year-old herbivore Citta from professional animal trainers. On the video they asked questions like whether they were "on the menu" and what ivory — the trade of which is illegal — costs.

Some viewers expressed their dismay in real time, accusing the streamers of animal abuse. 

Dortmund-based Semih Jackson and Jordan Almani have just over half a million subscribers on YouTube. Other examples of their attempts at cerebral entertainment include them taking a convertible car through a car wash and releasing fireworks indoors. 

The animal's trainer and owner, Sonni Frankello, told German newspaper Bild that the duo had wanted him to transport the animal across Germany to Dortmund, but he had replied it was too great a distance. 

"They really were a bit wild. But our elephants are used to a few idiots," Frankello told Bild. "If I had seen a genuine danger or threat, I would have intervened." 

In a social media video explaining the circumstances of the filming, Frankello said that his elephants were his "greatest pride and indeed my life," adding that he had worked with them since childhood. He said there was no point of addressing complaints from animal rights groups as they "are never satisfied with anything."