Germany Country Report
- Published Date: January 2020 + update in April 2021
A comprehensive overview of the cards, payments and consumer banking market in Germany.
This Country Report provides detailed insight into the German cards market's key players, including card networks, issuers, acquirers, banks and PSPs, plus the country's payments infrastructure, digital and mobile payments developments, demographic and consumer trends, regulatory drivers, credit card profitability and more.
Germany has long been differentiated from its near neighbours with regards to payments, whether seen in the relatively slow transition from cash dominance, the decentralisation of its banking sector or the presence of the Network Service Provider (NSP) in payment processing. This report explores key developments such as the new specialist issuers that have been fast developing a profitable revolving cards business in a historically conservative market.
Merchant acquiring too is in the midst of a transformation in Germany through an ongoing round of mergers and acquisitions: this report explores the complexities of the acquiring/processing market with comprehensive profiles of the leading players, supported by detailed market data.
With industry consolidation starting to affect Germany's fractured and regionalised banking industry, we look at the drivers, likely consequences and opportunities arising for newer digital players in the German cards and payments market.
This Verisk Financial Research Country Report is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand Germany's cards and payments market. Subscribers can log in to download their copy here.
What you will learn from this German Payments Research report:
- How revolving credit is becoming more of a feature
- Why debit cards in Germany are enjoying a new lease on life
- How the German acquiring business is being transformed
- Which scheme has been gaining credit cards market share – and how
- How digitalisation is affecting the incumbents
GERMANY CARDS & PAYMENTS REPORT | KEY FACTS
- Germany has a unique retail banking model with local savings and cooperative banks often preferred to commercial banks for day-to-day banking.
- The country stands out among major developed economies for its cash preference. Recent trends, however, point to a shift in payments behaviour.
- The average German adult made just 74 card purchases in 2019, far below France (264), Britain (372) and Sweden (431).
- Growth in German payment card use has been accelerating, though with card spend for 2019 estimated to be 27 per cent higher than in 2017.
- The rollout of contactless, combined with a less conservative younger generation, is key to the increasing popularity of cards.
- The German cards market is dominated by domestic debit scheme Girocard, which has almost full coverage among consumers.
- Deferred debit cards, mostly branded as Visa or Mastercard, are preferred to traditional credit cards.
- Germans use a wide range of payment methods for online purchases: payment by invoice, e-wallet and direct debit are the most popular.
Germany Payments Research | Report Contents
Key Topics
Demographics and the economy
Payments environment
German cards market
Mobile payments
Profit pool
The networks
Key retail banks and issuers
Acquiring and processing
Online acquiring
Regulatory and other cards market information
Appendices: Payment card data
Appendix I: Demographics and the economy
- Demographic and economic indicators
- Ownership of key consumer devices
- Internet usage by population
Appendix II: Payments environment
- Access points
- Account penetration
- Consumer payment trends
- B2C e-commerce payment methods
Appendix III: Cards market
- Total cards payment metrics
- Contactless cards metrics
- Germany credit card data numbers
- Total credit cards metrics
- Credit cards profitability indicators
- Debit cards numbers
- Debit cards metrics
- Prepaid/e-money cards metrics
Appendix IV: Mobile payments
- Mobile proximity payment metrics
- Mobile P2P payments
Appendix V: Profit pool
- German profit pool
Appendix VI: The card networks
- Networks' credit card market shares
- Networks' credit card numbers
- Networks' credit card billed volume
- Networks' number of credit card transactions
- Networks' average credit card transaction value
- Credit card interchange fees by network
- Networks' debit card market shares
- Networks' debit card numbers
- Networks' debit card billed volume
- Networks' number of debit card transactions
- Networks' average debit card transaction value
- Debit card interchange fees by network
Appendix VII: Key retail banks and issuers
- Key credit card issuers market shares by credit card numbers
- Key issuers market shares in credit card outstandings
- Key debit card issuers market shares by debit card numbers
Appendix VIII: Acquiring and processing
- Merchant acquirer credit card market share
- Credit card merchant service charges
- Merchant acquirer debit card market share
- Debit card merchant service charges
- Credit card issuer/issuing processor relationships
- Credit card acquirer/acquiring processor relationships
- Credit card issuing processor market shares by card numbers
- Credit card acquiring processor market shares by the number of POS transactions
Appendix IX: Online acquiring
- Online merchant acquirer market share
Germany Country Report | Selected Extracts
Demographics and Economy: The German economy is heavily dependent on a large manufacturing sector, responsible for almost 80% of total industrial production.
Payments Environment:
Germans are renowned for their heavy cash usage. Cash has historically been by far the most popular payment method. However, the proportion of cash in relation to overall spend at the POS fell below 50% for the first time in 2018.
Cards market:
Germany is the largest payment cards market in Western Europe in terms of cards in circulation: an estimated 149 million at the end of 2019. In that year, some 6.3 billion card transactions were made, with an average value of $63.
Mobile Payments:
Mobile payments are growing from a low base, with only a small market share from some bank-based solutions. Value-wise, mobile payments contribute less than 1% of Germany's payments market.
Profit Pool:
Net interest income is the key source of revenue for revolving credit card portfolios. It has more than doubled over the last five years thanks to overall growth in the market and the emergence of new players that have driven revolve rates higher.
The Cards Networks:
The country has a competitive credit cards market, with four major international brands, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Diners Club having a presence. UnionPay claims to have acceptance at over 70% of merchants. The dominant German scheme, Girocard, is a preferred network for domestic debit card transactions.
Key Retail Banks and Issuers:
The top five credit card issuers issue less than half of the cards. This contrasts with countries such as France and Britain, where the top five are responsible for a significantly higher proportion.
Acquiring and Processing:
Germany's acquiring market has been going through transformational mergers and acquisitions, a trend that mirrors consolidation in the payments space on both sides of the Atlantic, with non-banks doing much of the running.
Online Acquiring:
Germany is the second largest e-commerce market in Europe, trailing only the United Kingdom. Total online card spend in Germany for 2019 is estimated at $79 billion.
Regulatory and Markets Information:
As a member state of the European Union, Germany's regulatory framework is based on EU directives and regulations, several of which have a direct impact on this payments market.
Germany Payments Report | Entities Referenced
ADAC
Advanzia
Advent International
Adyen
Aldi
Amazon
Amazon Germany
American Express
Apple
Apple Pay
Automobile Club of Germany
AvD
B+S
Baden-Württembergische Bank
BaFin
Bain Capital Private Equity
Barclaycard
Barclays
Bayerische Landesbank
Bayerische Motoren Werke
BMW
BNB Paribas
Bonprix
BP
BS Payone
Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht
Bundesverband der Deutschen Volksbanken & Raiffeisenbanken
Bunq
BVR
BW-Bank
Comdirect
Commerzbank
Computop
Concardis
Conrad Electronics
Consorsbank
Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale
Cyberport
DekaBank
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bundesbank
Deutsche Card Services
Deutsche Kreditbank
Deutsche Postbank
Deutscher Sparkassenverlag
Diners Club
DKB
DKV
DriveNow
DSV Group
DZ Bank
ec card
ECB
eCS
Elavon
Elektronisches Lastschriftverfahren
ELV
Equens
equensWorldline
EU
European Central Bank
European Union
Eurowings
Eurozone
EVO Payments
Federal Ministry of Finance
Financial Market Stabilisation Agency
FIN-NET
FirstData
Fiserv
FMSA
German Savings Bank Association
Gesellschaft für Zahlungssysteme
Girocard
Giropay
Global Collect
Global Payments
Golfcard
Google Pay
GZS
Hagebaumarkt
Hanseatic Bank
Harley-Davidson
Heidelpay
Helaba
Hervis
Hilton
HVB
Hymer
ICS
immonet.de
Ingenico
InterCard
International Card Services
Karstadt
Klarna
Klarna
Kwitt
Landesbank
Landesbank Baden-Württemberg
Landesbank Berlin
Landesbanken
LBB
LBBW
Lufthansa
Maestro
Mastercard
Masterpass
MINI
Mister Spex
Monese
N26
Network Service Providers
Notebooksbilliger.de
Novalnet
NSP
Ogone
Otto
P.O.S. Transact
Paydirekt
Payone
PayPal
Paysquare
payWave
PSA Bank Deutschland
PSD2
Puma
Revised Payment Services Directive
Revolut
Santander
Santander Consumer Bank
Santander Consumer Leasing
SEPA
Shell
Single Euro Payments Area
SIX Payment Services
SIXT
SoFFin
Sofort
Sony
Spar
Sparkassen
Super-Landesbank
Targobank
Tchibo
TeleCash
TF Bank
TSYS
UniCredit
UnionPay
U.S. Bancorp
V Pay
Valovis Bank
VfB Stuttgart
Visa
Visa Checkout
V-B-ZVD Processing
Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken
VR Payment
Wirecard
Worldline
Zalando
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