News in Brief

Cash Lowest Cost for Consumers in Germany

The Bundesbank has published the third module of its study into the costs of cash and card payments from the consumer’s point of view. A representative study of private households asked private households about their payment costs in 2023. This recorded both monetary costs such as fees for account management, cash withdrawals at ATMs and payment cards etc., but also the financial damage in the event of loss or fraud. It also captured non-monetary costs such as time used and costs of data disclosure.

Between cash, debit card and credit card the cost per transaction of cash is the lowest. If you look at the costs relating to the transaction amount, debit card payments are cheaper than cash. Between the debit and credit cards, debit cards are significantly cheaper than credit cards in all respects for the consumer.