Earlier this year, the Bundesbank published its findings regarding the payment behavior of consumers for retail purchases in Germany.

From the press release: "The majority of those surveyed stated that how they chose to pay was determined by the amount of cash they had available to them and the amount to be paid. Measured by the value of the transactions, cash accounts for a share of 57.9%, girocards for 25.5% and credit cards for 3.6% of all purchases. In terms of the number of transactions, cash accounts for a share of 82.5%, with girocards and credit cards accounting for 11.9% and 1.4% respectively. This is due to the fact that mainly small and medium-sized payment amounts are paid in cash."

The full study is available for download here.

Gemalto has announced commercial launch of the Ezio Optical TAN, a unique optical authentication reader for online banking access that is specially designed for the German market. According to the company, "the reader, the size of a credit card, fits in a wallet along with the banking card. Users present the device in front of their computer screen and optical sensors capture the data they would normally enter from the reader keypad to carry out and sign online transactions. No software needs to be installed to use the device." READ MORE

Sybase has announced that it has acquired paybox solutions AG, a global leader in mobile payment solutions. "With this acquisition Sybase continues to bolster its Unwired Enterprise strategy by extending its leading mobile infrastructure to mobile payments." READ MORE

First Data has announced signing a partnership agreement with WestLB to launch a new business, First Merchant Solutions, to provide card acceptance services for retailers in Germany and across Europe. "As part of this new venture, WestLB, a German regional state bank with a strong European presence, will provide the licenses and payment services infrastructure while First Data will provide a comprehensive range of merchant acquiring services." READ MORE

At its 7th Annual Debit Conference, MasterCard Europe has announced what it calls "the emergence of a series of significant cross-border purchasing trends in Europe coinciding with the official launch of the Single Euro(pean) Payments Area (SEPA)."

First Data International has announced it is providing card processing services for the new VIsa prepaid card introduced by Dresdner Bank, part of the Allianz Group. According to First Data, "the Dresdner Prepaid Card combines the principle of prepayment made familiar in the mobile phone market with the payment functionality of a credit card. The card is not linked to a credit facility, and the customer defines the level of credit available on the card by making a deposit. To support the new card, First Data is providing processing and call centre services."