Germans are slowly converting to cashless payment, with 51% of payments last year made with traditional notes and coins, seven percentage points down on the previous study done in 2021, the central bank reported on Monday. Use of debit cards increased by five percentage points to 27% of transactions, as did that of smartphones, which rose by four percentage points to 6%, according to the Bundesbank survey. Measured by value, debit cards overtook cash for the first time at 32% of the total value of payments against 26%, showing that cards are preferred for larger transactions. Given freedom of …