Germany's Girocard to gain credit‑card functionalities from 2027

From spring 2027 Germany’s widely used Girocard will receive several new features that have until now been limited to credit cards. The card can be stored in merchant apps, allowing in‑app payments such as Payback Pay for retailers like dm, Edeka and Aral. A “whitelisting” system will let users mark trusted shops so future payments do not require repeated authorisation.

The expanded capabilities also cover hotel reservations and car‑rental bookings through a pre‑authorisation process, electronic age verification for alcohol purchases at self‑service terminals, and use in click‑and‑collect, delivery, public‑transport, taxi and car‑sharing services. Euro Kartensysteme says implementation will not increase costs for banks or merchants. Around 100 million Girocards are currently in circulation, but the exact launch geography beyond Germany has not been confirmed.