Germany

Germany has only recently tipped towards cashless payment. The Bundesbank’s 2025 study found that cashless methods were used for 55% of recorded purchases, the first time they overtook cash (45%); debit cards made up 26% of transactions and mobile payments 10%. By value, EHI found cards took 65.1% of retail turnover in 2025 against 32.3% for cash, with the domestic girocard debit scheme alone at 40.5%. Nearly nine in ten card payments are contactless, and 19.3% of cashless in-store payments were made by phone or watch. Acceptance still has gaps: cashless payment was possible for 86% of recorded in-store purchases, against 94% for cash.

The German E-Commerce and Distance Selling Trade Association (bevh) reported online sales of goods of €83.1 billion in 2025, up 3.2% on 2024, plus €14.4 billion in digital services, and bevh and EHI forecast 3.8% nominal growth for 2026. Marketplaces took 56% of online goods turnover (€46.2 billion) in 2025, and Chinese platforms such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress grew 27.2% to €3.7 billion. Because invoice and direct debit together still account for around 40% of online turnover, many shoppers expect to receive goods before paying, which shifts credit and collection risk to the merchant or its pay-later partner.

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) authorises payment and e-money institutions under the Payment Services Supervision Act (ZAG), Germany’s implementation of PSD2, and institutions report to both BaFin and the Deutsche Bundesbank. Payment institutions licensed elsewhere in the EEA can passport into Germany, and strong customer authentication (SCA) applies to online card and account payments. Online gambling is tightly controlled under the 2021 State Treaty on Gambling: the Joint Gambling Authority of the Federal States (GGL) can prohibit payment service providers from processing payments for unlicensed gambling, and courts have upheld these payment-blocking orders.

Almost every adult in Germany has a bank account: the World Bank Global Findex 2025 put account ownership at 98% and debit card ownership at 95% in 2024. Cash nonetheless keeps a strong social role. The Bundesbank’s 2025 study found that older people, those with health constraints, low incomes or lower digital literacy used cash more often, and 80% of respondents considered it important to keep the option of paying in cash.