In a first for cash-loving Germany, Deutsche Bank has added host card emulation-based contactless payments to its Android app.
Customers with NFC-enabled Android handsets will be able to link their Mastercard debit or debit card and make contactless payments of up to EUR25 by unlocking their phones and holding them against a POS terminal. For larger payments, they will need to enter a PIN.
When a customer activates a Mastercard for mobile payment, a copy of the card is displayed in the app. In addition, for security the phone stores ten tokens, each of which validates one payment.
"Paying by smartphone is already commonplace in Asia, North America and many European countries such as the UK and Italy. We are convinced that it will also become established in Germany," says Jan Lisaus, head, cards and payment systems, private and commercial clients, Deutsche Bank.
The bank's move comes as Germany’s economy minister Wolfgang Schaeuble defended the role of notes and coins in a debate in Europe about the merits of limiting cash payments to counter terrorism. According to the Bundesbank, the average German citizen regularly carries about EUR103 stuffed into their wallets.