Say Goodbye to Your EC Card: The Rise of Debit Cards in Germany

Almost everyone in Germany has an EC card or Girocard – and uses it. With the classic Girocard you can pay at the supermarket checkout in Germany and abroad, but this is usually not possible when shopping online. This is one of the reasons why numerous banks are replacing their giro cards with so-called debit cards – and only offer classic giro cards for a fee.

Another reason for the imminent end of the previous EC card is the announcement by Mastercard that it will discontinue the Maestro function of EC cards from July 2023. Anyone who then has a valid EC card can continue to use it – until the card expires or by the end of 2027 at the latest.

The debit card (or giro card with debit function), which is intended to replace the giro card with Maestro function, is a mix of giro card and credit card. The main difference lies in the billing: While credit cards are usually billed once a month, with the debit card each individual amount is deducted from the account immediately after payment – as was previously the case with the classic EC card. A short-term credit line is not granted.

And: If you want to rent a car or reserve a hotel abroad, this is usually only possible with a credit card. High fees are often charged for withdrawing money and paying by credit card in non-EU countries. But that can also be the case with the debit card.

The catch with the debit card: Not all retailers accept the new debit cards yet. The reason: The fees for transactions via debit card are up to four times higher than with the giro card. This is a real problem for smaller retailers with low turnover. As a rule, debit cards can be used wherever you can also pay by credit card.

And the debit cards have another disadvantage: the secure ChipTan procedure for online banking does not exist for the debit card.

Although the new debit cards can be used to shop online and pay abroad, it seems that credit cards will continue to exist. They wouldn’t actually be necessary – at least not if debit cards were accepted everywhere and you don’t have to rely on short-term credit from a credit card.

BREAKING/verbraucherzentrale.de