As of: February 16, 2024, 8:59 a.m
By: David Holzner
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Germans are increasingly paying cashless payments.
Contactless payments with smartphones are also increasing.
The reasons and what needs to be taken into account.
More and more customers are using the Girocard in their everyday lives.
This was announced by
Euro Kartensysteme GmbH
of the German banking industry in recently published statistics.
There will have been around 7.5 billion payment transactions with Girocard in 2023.
The number of card payments increased by 11.5 percent compared to the previous year.
Sales increased from 282 to 304 billion euros in the same period.
Cashless payment: Card payments are increasingly being made, even for smaller amounts
Whether with a Girocard, smartphone or smartwatch: contactless payment is becoming increasingly popular.
© Euro Kartensyssteme GmbH / Girocard / German banking industry
According to statistics, the card is also being used for smaller and smaller amounts.
Accordingly, the average amount per transaction fell by 1.65 euros (from 42.34 euros in 2022 to 40.69 euros in 2023).
Contactless payment also seems to be becoming more and more important to customers.
Simply holding the card in front of you accounted for around 84% of all transactions in the girocard system in 2023.
One reason for increased card payments could possibly be greater acceptance in retail.
Last year, up to 1,132,000 active payment terminals were available each month.
This is an increase of around 8.3 percent compared to the previous year.
According to
Euro Kartensysteme GmbH
this is
the largest percentage increase since 2010 and the highest increase in absolute numbers in more than 20 years.
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Contactless payment: with smartphone and smartwatch at the checkout
When making contactless payments, customers don't just use their physical Girocard.
Smartphones and smartwatches are also increasingly being used for payment processing.
Many banks and savings banks now offer the digital Girocard on the smartphone.
As with the card, payment is made directly from the checking account.
For example, instead of a PIN, Face ID or Touch ID is used for identification.
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The following institutes currently offer the digital girocard for Android smartphones:
BB Bank, BW-Bank, Cronbank, EDEKA Bank, Flessabank, MLP, PSD Bank (not all PSD banks), Sparda-Bank (currently only Berlin and Hamburg), Sparkasse, Targo Bank, Triodos Bank, Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken.
Source: girocard.eu
Paying with a smartphone: This is what you should pay attention to
Euro
Kartensysteme GmbH
speaks of increasing acceptance of card payments in retail.
However, you should not rely on it.
Check beforehand whether the stores support your system.
Regularly carry out the relevant system and app updates on your smartphone.
Keep your smartphone up to date.
Check your billing in the app regularly.
If you have any unusual transactions, contact your bank.
If you lose your smartphone, you should have your account blocked.
You can usually find the number for this on the website of your bank or credit institution.
Mobile payment transactions are usually free of charge.
In exceptional cases, contact your bank.
Example: trip abroad
Cash is becoming increasingly rare and card payments are increasing.
The German banking industry speaks of a positive trend that it wants to strengthen by supporting retailers and other players.
We are talking about making additional applications possible for the Girocard.
No further details are explained.