A few years ago I was living in the UAE and I was surprised that cheques were so common. When you rent an apartment you typically give post-dated cheques for each quarter at the start of the year.

It sounds a bit crazy, but by law if a cheque bounces it was a criminal offence (I believe they recently changed it or were thinking about it).

There are a lot of interesting advantages to this, as you can effectively escrow cash without a third party. If you receive a cheque you know you can always (or should always) being able to cash it in.

I live in Sweden and I use cash more often in Germany than I do when I am at home, despite being there only for a week each year. But yes, I've noticed this effect as well - accepting cards is becoming mainstream and eventually I hope to be ably to visit without having to leave with lots of scrap metal in my pockets.