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The use of bankcards in growing
in Germany and should shift into higher gear with the switch to EMV.
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In 2002, Germans paid for two-thirds
of their purchases in cash. However, a study published last August
by the Federation of German savings banks revealed that the use of
bankcards is gaining ground.
They were used to pay for almost one quarter (23%)
of the volume of purchases last year, that is twice more than five
years earlier. Cheques are still a marginal payment method (0.1% of
payments in 2002). Smart cards were introduced in Germany in 1996
by ZKA* (Zentraler Kreditausschuss), the German entity responsible
for managing the debit cards system and the e-purse system.
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| Above, central entity in the
German cooperative banking sector, BVR is chairing ZKA this
year. |
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ZKA gathers, in the form of a confederation, the
country's main banking associations.
The certifications it puts forward must be adopted unanimously, with
each association having first had them approved by the various establishments
in the banking community it represents.
In 2002, ZKA launched the first EMV pilot
tests for debit cards (around 60,000 cards), the first in the world
to use the dynamic data authentication (DDA) system. In October 2003,
the migration to EMV began with the issue of nine to ten million cards.
A further ten million cards are planned for 2004, and 30 million in
2005. For credit cards, EMV pilot tests will get underway this autumn
prior to the actual migration announced for 2004/2005.
*www.zka.de
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GERMANY
IN FIGURES |
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89
million debit cards, of which around 62 million
are smart cards.
19
million credit cards. |
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2/3
of purchases paid in cash.
23%
of the volume of purchases paid by bankcard. |
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