The corona pandemic has affected many areas of life and is still doing so.

This also applies to everyday things like shopping and the type of payment.

Data from the German retail sector shows that Germans use less and less cash at the checkout and instead use their bank card more often.

In addition, digital methods such as the contactless use of bank cards or mobile payment via smartphone are continuing to gain momentum.

This is the result of a representative survey by Postbank, for example, which the FAZ had previously reported on.

Kerstin Papon

Editor in Business.

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According to this, on average almost two thirds (60 percent) of Germans now pay for purchases without contact using a card or smartphone.

In 2021, 56 percent said so, before the pandemic it was 47 percent.

Many mobile payment users say they are using less cash because of the pandemic.

In addition, many of the shops visited called for cashless payment.

According to Postbank, these arguments have nevertheless decreased compared to the first Corona year.

The main reason is now: "quick and easy".

Even more interesting than the increased usage data are the reasons for digital payment, says Thomas Brosch, Head of Digital Sales at Postbank.

After the survey in 2021, it was not possible to say for sure whether, for example, only the hygiene rules during the pandemic had given digital payment methods a strong boost.

But even without the pandemic, mobile and contactless payments would have prevailed - because they were less complicated: Waiting for customers to count small change is becoming increasingly rare.

For retailers, this is a clear signal that cash payments at the checkout are on the decline.

Not knowing about payment options

Because according to the survey, an average of 59 percent of Germans say that digital payment methods are easier and faster than cash.

A year earlier, around 50 percent argued in this way.

Half of those surveyed said in favor of mobile payment that they always had their smartphone with them anyway, which sometimes saved them having to look for their bank card or even take it with them.

However, on average a quarter of Germans who want to pay digitally in the future do not know in which shops this is possible, according to Postbank.

The pandemic is therefore the reason, especially for those surveyed who are more than 40 years old, to try out digital methods.

The younger ones, the "digital natives", are more used to modern payment systems.

In this age group, 71 percent use digital payment methods, some with the associated discount systems.

A good third uses mobile payment via smartphone and contactless payment by card at the same time.

A good fifth say that across all age groups.

But the truth is also: Contactless payment with a bank card is more popular than using a smartphone: while 32 percent of those surveyed only opt for the former, only 7 percent pay exclusively using a mobile device.

Overall, 27 percent of the survey participants have already tried this latter payment method.

Before the pandemic, only 19 percent said so.

In a survey of its member companies, the EHI Retail Institute of the German retail trade came to the conclusion that, depending on the retail sector, between 78 percent (self-service stores) and 87 percent (drugstores) of all card transactions are processed contactlessly.

There are also regional differences: the Berliners are the leaders in mobile or contactless payment.

Here, 71 percent of those surveyed use at least one digital method - an increase of 7 percentage points compared to the previous year.

In contrast, Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania bring up the rear when it comes to modern means of payment, with 55 percent each in these federal states.

A good 3,000 Germans were surveyed in January and February of this year.