Germans are slowly converting to cashless payment, with 51% of payments last year made with traditional notes and coins, seven percentage points down on the previous study done in 2021, the central bank reported on Monday.
Use of debit cards increased by five percentage points to 27% of transactions, as did that of smartphones, which rose by four percentage points to 6%, according to the Bundesbank survey.
Measured by value, debit cards overtook cash for the first time at 32% of the total value of payments against 26%, showing that cards are preferred for larger transactions.
Given freedom of choice, 44% of those surveyed would prefer to use a debit card. Acceptance of cashless payment has also risen, with 80% of all transactions possible by card or phone last year, up 20 percentage points on the figure two years previously.
Bundesbank executive Burkhard Balz said that the study revealed that acceptance of cashless payments could be expanded. Almost a fifth of those surveyed reported instances where cashless payment was not possible.
The coronavirus pandemic boosted the use of cashless payment by German consumers, even though they lag other Western countries. Nevertheless, a return to notes and coins appears unlikely. Cash payments made up 74% of all transactions as recently as 2017.
Those concerned with protecting their privacy wish to keep cash, the survey found, while simplicity and speed were factors favouring cashless.
While 63% would like to see cash continue in use for the next 15 years, only 39% regard this as likely and 48% expect it to have disappeared from everyday use by 2038.