Number of cheque transactions in Germany
Number of cheque transactions in Germany stood at 1.5 million transactions in 2025, according to Deutsche Bundesbank. It is one of the indicators in the Payment statistics table (Value · Annual), with a complete series running from 2023 to 2025. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Payment statistics table
| Indicator | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of transactions | ||||
| Cheques | 1.5 | 2 | 2.6 | |
| Money remittances | 11 | 6.7 | 7 |
Understanding number of cheque transactions in Germany
Physical paper payment orders drawn on a credit institution and signed by the drawer delineate this specific instrument. The series captures all cheque operations presented for settlement through resident payment service providers, encompassing customer cheques, certified drafts, commercial pay orders, and bank-issued cashier cheques. It records transactions clearing through domestic interbank networks as well as international collection channels. The measure excludes paper-initiated credit transfer slips where the customer directs their own bank to execute a push transfer, direct debit mandates, electronic card transactions, and over-the-counter cash deposits.
Annual frequency avoids distortions arising from uneven banking business days, clearing holidays, and administrative quarter-end invoice processing cycles. Comparing complete annual figures provides a clean, unbiased baseline for observing structural shifts in commercial payment practices away from paper drafts. Series revisions are relatively rare but can occur when institutions correct delayed settlement postings from cross-border cheque collection. Analysts must distinguish cheques from paper-initiated credit transfers; while both involve paper forms, a cheque is a negotiable order delivered to a payee for subsequent bank deposit, whereas a paper transfer is submitted directly to the payer's bank to initiate a funds transfer.
Frequently asked questions
- Are cheques drawn on foreign banks but deposited in Germany counted here?
- The statistics record cheques cleared through resident credit institutions, encompassing both domestic drafts and cross-border collection items handled by resident banks.
- What is the operational difference between this series and paper-initiated credit transfers?
- A cheque is a signed payment order handed to a creditor to be cleared, whereas a paper credit transfer is handed to the debtor's bank to push funds to the recipient.
- Are travellers' cheques included in this count?
- Standard paper travellers' cheques processed for payment across banking counters are traditionally incorporated within cheque settlement collections.