girocard
Also known as: Girocard, EC card, Electronic cash
The girocard is Germany's leading debit card, a product of the German Banking Industry Committee. Payments and cash withdrawals are debited from the cardholder's bank account. Most girocards carry a second, international brand so they also work abroad.
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Example
A German customer pays at a till with a girocard. Abroad, the same card works through its second brand, such as Debit Mastercard or Visa Debit.
In Germany a card terminal that cannot read a girocard has a problem. It will miss the debit card most customers carry.
What it is
The scheme describes the girocard as "a product of the German Banking Industry Committee" and Germany's leading debit card. It links the electronic cash payment system with the German ATM system. The money leaves the cardholder's account, not a credit line, and a PIN confirms that the holder is the legal owner. The Bundesbank's 2025 payment-behaviour study agrees on the weight: debit cards made 26% of payments by number and 28% by value, and the girocard was by far the most used debit card.
It has a system of its own
The girocard is a domestic card scheme with its own rules. A terminal set up only for Visa and Mastercard will not take it unless the terminal and the acquirer also support the girocard.
Most girocards carry a second brand as well, a co-badge. The scheme's glossary names Debit Mastercard, V Pay and Visa Debit as possible co-badges. The second brand steps in where the girocard system cannot process the payment, often abroad. The scheme's English page still lists Maestro, V Pay and JCB, but its glossary says that issuing new cards with the Maestro function generally ended on 30 June 2023. Existing Maestro-badged cards stay usable until they expire.
Online
The scheme's own site describes the card for use at point-of-sale terminals and ATMs. For online sales, plan on the co-badge or another method such as Wero.
Accept the girocard at the till, or accept that part of Germany walks past it.
