Efficient and secure payment systems are the foundation of a stable financial system. The Bundesbank secures and monitors cashless payments in Germany as a financial centre, provides settlement and clearing services and plays an active role in the further development of the single European payment system.

With the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2), not only credit institutions, but also third-party payment service providers are able to offer their own account services.

On business day 29 October 2018 the Danish krone successfully became the first foreign currency to be made available for settlement in TARGET2-Securities (T2S).

German payment service providers operated around 103 million current accounts last year. The payment statistics published by the Deutsche Bundesbank also show that the number of transactions involving these accounts in 2017 increased compared with 2016.

In the latest Monthly Report, the Bundesbank’s payment specialists look at distributed ledger technology (DLT).

The final wave of migration to the European securities settlement platform TARGET2-Securities (T2S) has been successfully completed. Nearly all European securities settlements are now being conducted through T2S.

Growing numbers of consumers in Germany are using electronic payment methods, says Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann.