Dear Sir,Susan Starling and her young cashier friend (Letters to the Editor, November 7, 2019) may be interested to note that in several European countries, the done thing is actually not to exchange money directly in shops, putting it down on the counter or on a small tray put there for the purpose.I am not sure if this is for hygiene reasons or out of respect. When in such countries, I often hand the money over directly, out of reflex. It seems to make European shopkeepers mildly uncomfortable, but, like the cashier, I also find it mildly disdainful to put it down.I would like to apologise herewith to all European shopkeepers.On a tangent, I was very interested to see the picture you chose to accompany the letter is two hands exchanging a bribe of €50 notes, which I understand is another custom in certain European countries.JOHN GIBBONSDevonshire