Deutsche Bundesbank will abolish fax availability in January

Attention: The Deutsche Bundesbank is getting down to business – and is reorganizing its external communication. On its online contact page, the institute points out an upcoming innovation: “Please note that the Deutsche Bundesbank will no longer be reachable by fax from January 31, 2025.” In less than two months there will no longer be a connection to (069) 7090979000.

The fax machine has been part of the standard equipment of authorities and companies in Germany for decades – and is often used as a symbol of sleepy digitization processes – remember the Corona pandemic. In fact, for a long time it was the only way to legally maintain the written form without sending a letter.

For example, according to ARD, the Frankfurt city administration still has around 700 fax machines. A study by the Bitkom association from 2023 showed that 82 percent of companies in Germany still use fax technology – partly out of habit, partly but fax machines also serve as a fallback if other technologies fail.

But at least at the Bundesbank they are now willing to leave the “fax age” behind them. Instead, numerous alternative ways to contact the German central bank are presented: a telephone number, a postal address and even a contact form. The Bundesbank headquarters also has several social media presences.

However, private customers are more likely to come into contact with the Bundesbank’s 30 branches anyway. There, for example, D-Mark coins and notes can be exchanged for euros, damaged cash can be replaced or commemorative coins can be purchased. And at most locations the fax machine appears to remain in use. At least the branches in Augsburg, Berlin, Osnabrück, Koblenz, Chemnitz, Cologne, Leipzig, Rostock, Dortmund, Erfurt, Ludwigshafen, Saarbrücken, Frankfurt, Magdeburg, Stuttgart, Munich, Ulm, Göttingen, Neubrandenburg and Hamburg list fax numbers on their contact pages – (so far) without a shutdown date.