Cards and smartphones instead of banknotes and coins: people in Germany paid more often for their daily purchases without cash last year, as a representative study by the Bundesbank showed. Cash at the checkout was still by far the most used means of payment in 2025. But for the first time since the central bank’s first analysis in 2008, cashless payment methods came out on top overall.
“The trend towards cashless payments continues,” said Bundesbank board member Burkhard Balz in Frankfurt. Last year, people in this country paid cashless in more than half of the cases (55 percent), as the Bundesbank determined based on data on payment behavior collected from September 8th to December 2nd, 2025.
Germans often use the Girocard – as a card or mobile
The debit card (26 percent) was used most frequently, especially the Girocard, which is often still called an EC card. Since the cards are increasingly used for larger amounts, the debit card had the largest share in terms of the total amounts paid, as in 2023. However, this fell by 4 percentage points to 28 percent.
Mobile payment with smartphones or smartwatches increased the number of payment transactions by four percentage points to 10 percent compared to the previous survey.
Cash remains popular
According to the information, people used cash for 45 percent of all payments, which is still very high compared to other European countries. In 2023, cash payments in Germany were still at 51 percent, in 2008 it was even 83 percent.
Older people, people with health problems, low incomes or little digital experience tend to use cash more often. 12 percent of those surveyed said they would have great difficulty carrying out their everyday business without cash. According to the survey, this applies at least partially to a further 29 percent.
“Regardless of personal preferences, 80 percent of those surveyed think it is important that they can continue to pay in cash,” explained Balz. Because ATMs are being dismantled and bank branches are being closed, it is sometimes becoming more difficult to obtain cash in rural areas. Respondents were able to pay for purchases on site in cash in 94 percent of cases, but cash was accepted less often in local public transport and at self-service checkouts in retail.
Bundesbank: Ensure freedom of choice when paying
Despite the digitalization trend, paying without notes or coins is far from possible everywhere: around a quarter of those surveyed reported that they were unable to pay cashless as desired at least once. People must be able to “pay in cash or non-cash according to their own needs,” emphasized Balz. “There is currently no complete freedom of choice.”
Fears that cash could be abolished are repeatedly countered by both the European Central Bank (ECB) and the EU Commission. A proposal from the Brussels authority for a legal framework from June 2023 stipulates that the digital euro, which central banks have been working on for years, will become legal tender. But it is not intended to replace notes and coins. At the same time, the EU Commission wants to ensure by law that cash continues to be widely accepted and readily available in the European Union.