Question for Germans

I have a friend who currently lives in Germany. He's been living there for less then a year and he gave me some thoughts on how he compares living there to living in Finland and Thailand where he has also lived. He told me that despite the notion that Germany is hailed as a technologically advanced nation, average everyday things are still surprisingly difficult and not as 'smooth' as they are in Finland or even in Thailand.

Now I wonder how the Germans here in GT feel about this, I'm not trying to diss you nation, on the contrary. My buddy could be just stupid. I'm just interested to know what it's like in Germany for a recent immigrant or a person who has moved there for work when it comes to everyday average things.

Edit. Ok a concrete example, when you guys go to the store, what do you pay with usually? Cash, bank card, credit card, cheque, something else maybe?