Girocard

 

Girocard is Germany’s dominant domestic debit card scheme, with over 100 million cards in circulation and 7.9 billion transactions processed in 2024 alone, making it the single highest-volume card scheme in Europe by cards issued. It is the card most Germans reach for first when paying in-store, deeply embedded in everyday retail life and trusted across all consumer segments.

For e-commerce, girocard’s story is more nuanced. The scheme only became available for online payments in July 2021, and adoption among online merchants has been growing but is not yet universal. The online-capable girocard works primarily through digital wallets, most notably Apple Pay, where girocard is tokenised and used for mobile commerce payments. This means German consumers who prefer to pay with their girocard online can do so via Apple Pay, even if a merchant does not explicitly list girocard as a standalone checkout option.

The cost argument for merchants is clear. Girocard interchange is significantly lower than Visa and Mastercard debit interchange in Germany, with per-transaction savings of €0.50 or more on a €100 basket compared to international debit card routing. Most German debit cards are co-badged with Maestro or V PAY, though those schemes are being phased out, and increasingly with Visa Debit or Mastercard Debit. Where a co-badged card can be routed over girocard, the cost differential is material. Not every PSP participates in the German girocard system, which is a critical point: many international PSPs with competitive headline rates do not support girocard routing at all, meaning merchants using them systematically pay higher rates on German debit volume than necessary.

The longer-term picture is worth noting. The European Payments Initiative is developing a pan-European card scheme, Wero, which is intended to eventually absorb national debit schemes including girocard. The transition timeline remains gradual, and girocard is expected to remain the dominant German debit instrument for the foreseeable future.

PSP support for girocard varies considerably. Confirming whether your PSP participates in the girocard scheme and routes eligible transactions over it is one of the more straightforward cost optimisation checks available for merchants with meaningful German card volume.

Relevant markets: Germany