Six in ten Germans now make contactless payments

Postbank graph showing that six in ten Germans now make contactless payments
QUICK AND EASY: Covid-19 has boosted the use of contactless card and smartphone payment in Germany

Six in ten consumers in Germany now make contactless payments with their smartphone or a contactless card (60%), an increase from 56% in 2021 and 47% in 2020, according to a survey conducted by Postbank.

The survey also shows that this proportion rises from 55% for consumers aged over 40 to 71% for those aged under 40, and that making contactless payments with a bank card is “currently more popular than paying with a smartphone”, with 32%  of respondents using only cards and 7% making only mobile payments.

In addition, the survey indicates regional variations across Germany, with 71% of Berlin residents using contactless payment methods, followed by 67% in Bremen, 60% in North Rhine-Westphalia, 58% in Bavaria, and 55% in Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

“The Corona crisis has clearly pushed the trend forward: 30% of mobile payment users each state that they handle less cash because of the pandemic and that the shops they visit call for cashless payments,” the researchers say.

“However, these arguments have decreased compared with the first Corona year; currently, ‘quick and easy’ is the main reason.

“59% of Germans argue that digital payment methods are easier and faster than cash — a year earlier, 50% said so.

“According to 49% of those surveyed, the argument in favour of mobile payment is that they always have their smartphone with them anyway and then sometimes save themselves having to look for their bank card or take it with them.”

Postbank’s ‘Digital Study 2022: The Digital Germans’ is based on a survey of 3,050 German consumers conducted in January and February this year.

Nordic payments processor Nets found that 77% of cashless payments made in Germany were contactless in September 2021.

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