Status: 06.07.2022 3:20 p.m
According to a Bundesbank study, the trend towards cashless payments is continuing – also as a result of Corona. But Germans still prefer to pay in cash.
Germans love cash: for the most part, Germans still use coins and notes to pay for their purchases. According to the Bundesbank survey on the payment behavior of Germans, it was 58 percent of all payments last year. This means that cash remains the most popular means of payment among Germans.
But slowly but surely they change their behavior. In 2020, the proportion of cash payments was still 60 percent, in 2017 it was 74 percent. According to the Bundesbank, the decline is mainly due to the increase in online purchases and the trend towards contactless payments with EC and credit cards.
Pay contactless even for smaller amounts
The corona pandemic was also a driver. Bundesbank board member Burkhard Balz said when presenting the study: “Of course, the corona pandemic has further accelerated the use of card payments.” In the shops, people were often asked to pay with cash or contactless.
Before the pandemic, the baker would give you a crooked look if you asked if card payment was possible. “Today, people look at you crookedly if you don’t pull out your card or smartphone and pay the amount with it,” said the Bundesbank board member.
Girocard popular – trend towards online shopping continues
Debit cards (especially the Girocard in Germany) were the second most frequently used means of payment with 23 percent of all transactions – with a turnover share of 30 percent. Credit cards also became more important with six percent of transactions. Larger amounts in particular were paid by credit card. This and the increased use of credit cards in online retail have meant that, according to the Bundesbank study, their share of sales has doubled since 2017.
According to the study, the trend towards online shopping continued in the second year of Corona. The share of online trade in total sales has now climbed to 24 percent in 2021 – compared to just six percent in 2017. Internet payment methods have also become increasingly popular. In 2021, five percent of all purchases were already paid for in this way – in 2017 it was just under two percent. PayPal continued to expand its dominance with a share of 4.2 percent.
According to the study, paying with a smartphone is also on the rise. In 2021, 17 percent of all smartphone owners surveyed were already using it to pay at the till. “I expect that in Germany more and more people will exchange their physical wallet for an electronic wallet in the future,” said Bundesbank board member Balz.