The most favourable solution for retailers is for customers to pay at the checkout counter using cash or the girocard. This was the finding of a study published by the Deutsche Bundesbank entitled The cost of payment methods in the retail sector. The study analysed monetary costs such as fees, charges, equipment and transport costs. In addition, non-monetary costs such as the time spent by retailers using payment instruments at the point of sale or for administrative purposes were factored into the calculations.

For merchants, cash payments, at an average cost of €0.43 per transaction, are the least expensive option in terms of cost per payment. In terms of the ratio of cost to turnover, the girocard is the most cost-effective method, at an average cost of just under 1 % of turnover. International debit and credit cards, such as Mastercard and Visa, are more expensive in both cases. They generate more costs for retailers, mainly through higher fees. 

Each individual payment transaction is almost always free of charge for consumers but entails costs for the retail sector, Bundesbank Executive Board member Burkhard Balz said. Only if the costs are transparent can central banks and other agents work towards efficient payments. 

The study also shows that payments are more expensive for smaller retailers than for larger ones. Larger merchants have a better bargaining position against payment service providers; their costs per transaction and cost-to-turnover ratio are therefore significantly lower. Larger merchants also have larger transaction and sales volumes, which allows them to spread their overhead costs across a larger number of payments and higher payment values. The gap between small and large retailers is greatest with regard to cashless payments.

Acceptance of different means of payment also varies. Cash is accepted almost universally. Girocard and international debit cards are increasingly accepted, but especially by larger retailers. Small retailers are less likely to offer digital payment media, as the transaction fees and investment costs involved remain a barrier for them, Mr Balz explained. Overall, the costs for the retail sector could be reduced by increasing competition in the payment method market, for example through the European payment option Wero or, going forward, the digital euro. 

The analysis of costs is based on time measurements of around 13,000 transactions at 15 points of sale and on a survey of 268 retailers of various sizes and in various sectors. The time measurements took place in August 2022 and the surveys were conducted between August and December 2023.