The Germans’ love of cash is legendary. But people in this country often pay without notes or coins: the Girocard has record values.
Last year, consumers in Germany used the Girocard more often than ever to make cashless payments. The Frankfurt institution Euro Kartensysteme counted 7.48 billion payment transactions with plastic cards. That was 11.5 percent more than in the previous record year of 2022, as shown in the figures published today.
Whether at the bakery, at the gas station or in the supermarket: customers are increasingly pulling out the card at the checkout, even for smaller amounts, which has still not completely gotten rid of its old name “EC card”. That is why the average amount paid with the Girocard fell from 42.34 euros to 40.69 euros within a year. According to Euro Kartensysteme, total sales with the Girocard in 2023 were 304 billion euros, 7.1 percent above the level of the previous year (284 billion euros).
Quick payment in passing is popular
There was a further boost for contactless payment, which retailers particularly promoted during the Corona pandemic for hygiene reasons. The proportion of contactless payments with the Girocard increased from a high level from 79 percent to almost 84 percent. “Customers are paying more and more often at the checkout by holding their card,” said Euro Kartensysteme.
Contactless payment is possible with debit cards and credit cards that have a so-called NFC chip. You can also transfer money contactlessly using a smartphone or smartwatch with services such as Apple Pay and Google Pay or with banking apps. The data for processing the payment is exchanged in encrypted form with the terminal at the checkout when customers hold the card, smartphone or smartwatch close to the device. For small amounts, you don’t even need to enter your secret number (PIN).
The majority of the approximately 100 million Girocards that banks and savings banks in Germany have issued to their customers are equipped with the contactless function. According to Euro Kartensysteme’s assessment, paying quickly as you walk past is technically possible at almost all of the more than 1.1 million payment terminals in stores in this country.
Further options with the Girocard
Banks and savings banks want to upgrade the payment card with additional applications. For example, one option being tested is to check directly whether the customer is of legal age when paying with the digital Girocard via smartphone or smartwatch, for example when purchasing cigarettes. This could also be used at self-service checkouts in supermarkets.
From 2025 onwards, millions of Sparkasse customers will be able to collect Payback bonus points directly when making cashless payments with their Girocard. The Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe and Payback contractually sealed their collaboration in November.
The Girocard must function in all channels, said Ulrich Binnebößel, head of the Payment Systems & Logistics department at the German Retail Association (HDE): “In more and more areas you have to be omnichannel capable. This is the area in which the Girocard still has some catching up to do.”
The Girocard is a particularly attractive payment solution for retailers, said Binnebößel: “We see that debit cards from international providers cause up to four times higher costs.” Smaller shops have now also recognized the advantages of the Girocard. “Particularly in industries with low margins, companies use the Girocard as the only card payment method because they benefit from comparatively low transaction costs,” said the HDE expert.
Source: Stern
