Eye-Q
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- Feb 17, 2007
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Here in Germany most supermarkets use the "rental" system as in the carts are chained to each other and you need to put a coin into a slot on the handle to unlock it. When you return the cart and put the chain back into the receptacle you can take out the coin again. Old systems only accept coins of one size (for example only 50 cent coins or only 1 Euro coins), more recent systems you can feed with 50 cent-, 1 or 2 Euro*-coins. There are even "dummy" coins, mostly used as giveaways with some advertising on it so a) you don't have to use a coin which you would spend at the store and b) you can't spend it so you are always able to "rent" a cart. Since the introduction sometime in the 1990s the return rate is almost 100%.
Wouldn't work in many other countries where you rarely use cash anymore though...
Wouldn't work in many other countries where you rarely use cash anymore though...