Europe · GDP rank #4
Germany
DE · EUR @ 1.1595/USD
The largest economy in Europe and the most cash-resilient. Cash still clears roughly half of consumer transactions by volume, the domestic girocard scheme dominates debit, and credit-card penetration is among the lowest in the G10. The slow shifts are real — SEPA Instant is finally free at most banks, Wero is building out — but a story of rapid card displacement is wrong for Germany in 2026.
Tab 03
Rails & infrastructure
The instant rail, the RTGS spine, the card switch, the direct-debit scheme, and the country's CBDC stance. Each rail is reported with operator, launch year, and 2024 flow so the relative scale across rails is readable at a glance.
CBDC status is deliberately granular: live, pilot, preparation, live stalled, and sceptical, no pilot are different things.
ECB's Digital Euro project is in the preparation phase (2023-26). Decision on issuance deferred to late 2026 or beyond; German public debate is unusually sceptical given strong cash preference. Bundesbank continues parallel work on DLT wholesale settlement via Trigger Solution.
Instant payments
SEPA Instant Credit Transfer
The instant leg typically carries the vast majority of retail consumer flow in modern payment systems — and sits in direct tension with card networks and wallets for the same transactions.
- Operator
- EBA Clearing (RT1) + TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS)
- Live since
- 2017-11-21
Transactions · 2024
txns/year · 2024
IPR-driven jump expected in 2025-26; 2024 baseline pre-mandate.
Cleared value · 2024
EUR/year · 2024
Participating institutions
institutions · 2025
Alias registrations
2025
IBAN-name check prior to instant transfer; live across SEPA zone from October 2025.
Rail features
- ▌10-second end-to-end under SCT Inst rulebook
- ▌Free-to-send under IPR from October 2025
- ▌€100,000 per-transaction maximum (rulebook); individual PSPs may cap lower
- ▌Mandatory Verification of Payee (IBAN+name check) from October 2025
RTGS
Real-time gross settlement
The RTGS spine clears high-value interbank flow — including the settlement of the instant-rail cycles and card-network net positions. Transaction count is modest; cleared value is enormous.
Transactions · 2024
txns/year · 2024
Cleared value · 2024
EUR/year · 2024
Open banking
Regulatory and technical posture
- Regime
- PSD2 (FIDA proposal in trilogue)
- Live Since
- 2018-01-13
Active AIS/PIS consents
consents · Q4 2025
Monthly PSD2 API calls
calls/month · Q4 2025
Full reference