A trend reversal at the checkout: According to the Bundesbank, for the first time, people in Germany paid for their everyday purchases without cash more often than with notes and coins. In 2025, 55 percent of all recorded purchases were made cashlessly, the Bundesbank announced on Wednesday in Frankfurt am Main. Despite the shift, a large majority of the population said they would not want to do without cash.
According to a Bundesbank study on payment behavior in Germany, cash was used for 45 percent of all payments in 2025, six percentage points fewer than in the previous study conducted in 2023. Debit cards, most notably the Girocard, came in second place with 26 percent of all payments.
Mobile payment methods, such as paying by smartphone, accounted for ten percent of all payments, four percentage points more than in 2023. Internet-based payment methods saw their share double, reaching six percent.
The Bundesbank noted that the range of available payment methods has grown steadily in recent years. "Alongside established methods such as bank transfers, direct debits, and card payments, digital wallets and app- and internet-based payment systems have now firmly established themselves," said Burkhard Balz, a member of the Bundesbank's Executive Board.
The study also revealed that not all segments of the population are participating equally in the digitalisation of payments. Older people, those with health limitations, those on lower incomes, and those with limited digital experience tend to use cash more frequently. Regardless of personal preferences, 80 percent of those surveyed said it was important to them that paying in cash remain possible.
"Against this backdrop, it is a central concern of the Bundesbank to preserve cash as a low-cost, efficient, and inclusive means of payment," Balz said. For the study, around 6,000 randomly selected citizens were surveyed between September and early December of last year, and participants kept a three-day diary recording their payment behaviour.
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