Mobile payment in Germany continues to grow as cash loses market share
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Editorial TeamPublished on
Mobile payment in Germany reached 19.3% of cashless retail payments in 2025, while cash continued to lose market share, according to new EHI retail data.
Mobile Payment in Germany Is Reshaping Retail Checkout Behavior
Mobile payment in Germany is growing rapidly as consumers increasingly use smartphones and smartwatches instead of traditional wallets at the checkout. New data from the EHI study “Payment Systems in Retail 2026” shows that mobile payments accounted for 19.3% of all cashless retail payments in 2025, highlighting how quickly digital payment habits are changing.
The report also shows that cash continues to lose market share in German retail. While cash remains widely used for smaller purchases, card payments and mobile wallets are increasingly dominating overall retail revenue.
As payment behavior evolves, retailers are facing growing pressure to rethink payment infrastructure, transaction costs and their dependence on wallet providers and payment platforms.
Mobile Payment in Germany Nearly Doubles Within One Year
According to the EHI study, mobile payment represented 19.3% of all cashless retail payments in 2025. The previous year, the figure stood at 12.8%, marking a significant year-over-year increase.
Mobile payment also represented 9.3% of Germany’s approximately 20 billion annual retail payment transactions.
The growth reflects how payment processes are increasingly shifting away from physical wallets and toward digital devices such as smartphones and smartwatches. Although many transactions still rely on underlying card networks, customers are now interacting more frequently with payment apps and digital wallets instead of physical cards.
This shift is becoming strategically important because the customer interface is moving toward technology platforms, device manufacturers and app providers rather than remaining directly controlled by banks or retailers.
Cash Continues to Lose Market Share in German Retail
Cash usage in Germany continues to decline, particularly in terms of overall retail revenue.
According to the EHI data, cash accounted for 32.3% of retail sales in 2025, down from 33.8% the previous year. Card payments, meanwhile, represented 65.1% of retail sales, reaching a total transaction volume of €328.6 billion.
However, cash remains highly relevant for smaller purchases. Looking at the number of transactions rather than revenue, cash still accounted for 50.5% of purchases, slightly ahead of cards at 48.1%.
The data shows that consumers continue to use cash frequently for lower-value transactions, even as digital payment methods dominate larger spending volumes.
For retailers, the transition creates both opportunities and challenges. Cash handling involves operational costs related to change management, deposits and checkout processes. Digital payments, on the other hand, introduce transaction fees, technical dependencies and contractual complexity.
As a result, retailers are increasingly being forced to evaluate payment systems not only based on customer preferences, but also on cost structures, speed and operational efficiency.
Contactless Payments Are Accelerating Mobile Payment Growth
One of the main drivers behind the rise of mobile payment in Germany is the widespread adoption of contactless payments.
According to the study, almost nine out of ten card payments are now made contactlessly. As consumers become accustomed to tapping cards or smartphones at the checkout, the transition from physical cards to mobile wallets becomes increasingly seamless.
The market has also been influenced by regulatory changes surrounding Apple’s payment ecosystem. Following pressure from the European Commission, third-party providers gained broader access to the iPhone’s contactless payment interface.
This has enabled additional financial institutions and payment providers to expand their mobile wallet offerings. Alongside Germany’s savings banks, cooperative banks and PayPal have also introduced stronger wallet integrations.
As mobile payment becomes more competitive, retailers are increasingly dependent on infrastructure controlled by global technology companies and payment platforms.
International Debit Cards Continue to Gain Share
The EHI report also highlights growing adoption of international debit cards.
Visa Debit and Debit Mastercard increased their market share by 2.5 percentage points, reaching 9.4% of retail sales.
Despite this growth, Girocard remains the most widely used card payment method in German brick-and-mortar retail with a 40.5% share. However, Girocard still lost one percentage point compared to the previous year.
Credit cards accounted for 8.2% of retail sales, while SEPA direct debit represented 6.4%.
For merchants, these shifts are important because different payment methods involve different processing costs and fee structures. While international debit cards often appear similar to domestic bank cards from the customer perspective, they can create significantly different commercial conditions for retailers.
Online Payment in Germany Remains Dominated by PayPal and Invoice Payments
In e-commerce, payment preferences continue to differ from physical retail.
PayPal remained the leading online payment method in Germany with a 28.7% share of revenue. Invoice payment followed closely with 26.1%.
Direct debit continued to lose share and declined to 14.4%, while credit cards and international debit cards increased to 13.7%.
Apple Pay was also included separately in the study for the first time and reached a 1.3% revenue share.
For online retailers, payment strategy remains a balancing act between customer convenience, transaction costs and fraud risks. Customers increasingly expect frictionless checkout experiences, but offering a wide range of payment methods also increases operational complexity.
Restricting payment options too aggressively can lead to abandoned purchases, while offering every available method can negatively impact margins and operational efficiency.
Retailers Need a More Strategic Approach to Payment Systems
The rapid growth of mobile payment in Germany shows that digital payments are becoming a permanent part of the retail landscape.
For consumers, paying becomes faster and more convenient. For retailers, however, the payment environment is becoming increasingly fragmented and platform-driven.
The central question for merchants is no longer whether they should accept digital payments, but how they can optimize payment systems while managing costs, dependencies and customer expectations.
Smaller and medium-sized retailers in particular may need to evaluate which payment methods are truly delivering value, what transaction costs are associated with each option and whether their current infrastructure supports long-term efficiency.
As mobile payment adoption continues to rise, the retail payment ecosystem is increasingly shifting toward platform-controlled digital wallets, reshaping how customers and merchants interact at the checkout.
