Category: Austrian News

In 2024, Austrians made ten percent more payments with Visa cards than in the previous year.Despite the popularity of cash, many see the future of payment as digital: Visa, the global payment giant, reported record-breaking growth figures for Austria in 2024. Consumers are increasingly turning to cards—whether in supermarkets, online stores, restaurants, or even when skiing.Despite their desire to keep cash, Austrians are in a digital payment fever: the number of payment transactions with Visa cards rose by a whopping ten percent last year, while payment volumes increased by eight…

Read More

New deposit rules: Since February, extended deposit obligations for plastic and glass bottles have been in force in Austria. What is affected, and what remains deposit-free? Since this year, a one-way deposit system has been in place for most plastic bottles and cans in Austria. And as if that wasn’t change enough, the deposit on some glass bottles was also increased at the beginning of February. The new one-way deposit regulation applies to all plastic bottles and cans with a volume between 0.1 and 3 liters. A deposit of 25…

Read More

The City of Vienna is planning extensive subway extensions up to 2035. The “Vienna Plan” provides for examining a further extension of the U2, U3, and U6 lines, which will bring both opportunities and challenges.The “Vienna Plan” regulates urban planning up to 2035 and includes examining possible extensions to Vienna’s subway lines. Planning Director Thomas Madreiter explained in the program “Wien heute” that it will take at least ten years to review the settlement potential and structural feasibility of a subway. In-depth examinations for subway extensions in ViennaAt the forefront…

Read More

Tuesday: Sunny, but still coolThere will be widespread sunshine on Tuesday. In the morning, there will still be some residual clouds in the western valleys, and during the day, some spring clouds will develop, especially in the eastern half of the country. However, it will remain dry, and the clouds will disperse towards the evening. The wind will blow briskly from the east to northeast, especially in the Innviertel and around Lake Constance. After a frosty morning, temperatures will rise to 4 to 12 degrees during the day, with the…

Read More

From today, 17 March, around 130,000 low-income households in Vienna will be able to apply for the EUR 100 compensation bonus from Wien Energie. This measure is intended to cushion the impact of the abolition of the electricity price brake and provide relief for directly affected customers. Who is eligible?Wien Energie electricity customers exempt from the ORF household tax are eligible. The credit will be offset directly against upcoming installments or outstanding invoices. The bonus can be claimed once per customer. There are three ways to apply: Online In person:…

Read More

The first nationwide coronavirus lockdown occurred in Austria on 16 March 2020. Public life was drastically restricted to contain the spread of the virus. Exactly five years ago today, on 16 March 2020, the first nationwide corona lockdown was enacted in Austria to curb the spread of the disease. Austria went into a state of emergency that was to last for several months. Nobody knew the effects at the time. Measures in AustriaThe first corona death was reported on 12 March 2020, and four days later the first lockdown was…

Read More

The government is planning far-reaching changes to the pension system starting in June 2025. In addition to increased health insurance contributions for pensioners, adjustments to the retirement age, and new regulations for additional earnings are also planned. These measures are part of the restructuring plan for the budget deficit. Government reaches into the pockets of senior citizensFrom 1 June 2025, health insurance contributions for pensions will be increased from 5.1 percent to 6.0 percent. This will lead to a noticeable reduction in net pensions. An average old-age pension means an…

Read More

In the morning, heavy rain will spread from the southwest, covering almost the entire country. The snow line is between 600 and 1500 meters. The snow will fall particularly deep in the Tyrolean lowlands, Salzburg, Upper Austria and the Waldviertel (Lower Austria). Parts of Carinthia may also see snow in some valleys due to the high precipitation intensity. West of Innsbruck will remain predominantly dry during the day and the precipitation will generally decrease in the late afternoon. The wind will be mostly weak to moderate. However, it will freshen…

Read More

The Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications (RTR) warned on Thursday of increased abuse originating in Great Britain. 250 complaints have been registered with the relevant abuse reporting office since 1 March alone. This is a very high increase within a very short period of time. Klaus M. Steinmaurer, Managing Director of the Telecommunications and Postal Services Division, advises that if the numbers of calls begin with +44, one should ask oneself whether one is expecting a call from Great Britain. Recently, a female computer voice has increasingly told…

Read More