"A Cash Economy"

Including my bank representative, Tomáš, a few Czechs have told me this phrase...
"The Czech Republic is a cash economy," meaning they use cash whenever possible. You buy something small, like lunch, you use cash. You buy something big, like furniture or appliances, cash is still very preferred.
Yes, when we go to IKEA, I notice people whip out a wad of bills that they withdrew from the bank in anticipation of going to IKEA. Or from the ATM at IKEA. ATM limits here are much, much higher than back in the States. I believe ours is roughly equivalent to US$2000/day -another sign that cash is more relied upon.
I wondered "Do people write checks here? ('cheques' if outside US) ...No. Never seen or heard of a checking account from either a Czech or a bank. I did manage to find this posted on the English version of a bank website for foreigners (that'd be us):
"The Czechs do not use cheques.
The Czech economy is known as "cash economy", which mainly means that cheques are not used here."
Of course, for a very large purchase, e.g. house, car -those are financed by Czechs like people anywhere. BUT, just yesterday, I and a coworker, who will remain nameless, got to talking about this subject. He admitted that he has purchased property in the past using large amounts of saved cash. This was to benefit both parties for...well, tax evasion. Another topic for another day.
Credit cards? They are just coming into play here, but far from popular. Hesitation by the consumer; met with love by the banks.
We could talk for a while more about banking here, but for now I will say they like fees. Monthly fees to maintain an account, fees to withdraw from an ATM, and even a nominal fee to deposit cash. In fact, because some fees are expensive, such a lost/stolen card, the bank will offer their own insurance to help counter their fees should you face the need to pay them. And yes, Czechs (and we) typically sign up for that insurance. Can you say 'racket'? (FYI: It works out that you save money, should you lose a card more often than once every ten years!)
In the meantime, May and I continue to balance between cash for all small/medium purchases and then our US/western Visa for large purchases.
Not to beat a dead horse, but cash is preferred here. Of course, cash is preferred over a credit card anywhere. Any store would sooner save the 3-4% merchant charge and pocket this added bonus. This is why you can (and should) "haggle" in the appropriate situation if you first mention you'll be paying cash. But here, in the Czech Republic, they will pass on that charge to you. Call it punishment or call it ensuring their profit, but the price varies according to method of payment. More of a surprise for foreigners is, this isn't said up front. But why would they - credit cards are not the norm, so no need to predict their use. Instead, for things like an expensive meal, they will ask "Cash or credit card?" Seems an innocent question, but if paying for a large purchase with credit card, the will adjust the total to counter the fees.
IKEA is an exception here, not charging differently for credit vs. cash. IKEA, as a Swedish company, operates under different assumptions.

"This has been a cold and educational posting by Jeff." - Maylia

Please say the preceding sentence in a deep radio voice.