Shortly after you open your current account, in addition to the checks and transfer forms, you will be sent a Eurocheck card. This was formerly known as an EC Card, but is now more precisely called a Maestro Card. You will also be issued a PIN number (in most cases you cannot choose your own PIN number).The EC/Maestro Card can be used for making cashless payments and for withdrawing money from ATMs in Germany and throughout Europe. The Maestro Card serves as an acceptable form of payment at any business displaying the Maestro symbol, as well as many shops and offices that do not display it.

Thanks to its lower fees for retailers, the Maestro Card has proven to be more popular than credit cards and enjoys wider acceptance. The Maestro Card is a direct debit card, meaning that the payment is deducted directly from your Giro account (although it can sometimes take up to a few days before a transaction is processed). If you have overdrawn your Giro account, you will automatically be charged at your bank's predetermined annual interest rate (Überziehungskredit).

There is no charge for making withdrawals from an ATM using your Maestro Card at your home bank. If you make a withdrawal from another bank, then the surcharge is usually about 2-3 euros - often higher when using an ATM outside Germany. An important word of warning: make sure you keep your Maestro Card in a safe place and memorize your PIN number (never write it down in your wallet or on the card itself!). If your card is lost or stolen, report this immediately to your financial institution. And keep your ATM receipts until you can check them against your monthly statement.

For payments requiring only a small amount of money, the chip card (Geldkarte) can be used. Located on your Maestro card, the chip can be loaded and unloaded at your bank's ATM and comes in very handy for paying inexpensive items, such as your S-Bahn ticket when you are out of pocket change or photocopies at the library. Keep in mind, though, that the chip card operates without a PIN, meaning that if you lose your card, the amount of money loaded on your chip card becomes the property of he or she who finds it! It is therefore advisable to load your chip card with small amounts at a time.

Credit cards still have not made the inroads here that they have in many other countries. One reason is the alternatives for cashless payment; the other is the cultural bias against buying something that you do not really pay for right then and there. Nevertheless, credit card companies have been trying to change this mindset, and you will see that they have set up tables with application forms in the major department stores or along the main shopping thoroughfares in nice weather. But if you are a hard card carrier yourself, you do not have to wait until the companies come out to entice you: most banks issue the two most popular cards, Visa and MasterCard. The first year is often free, followed by an annual service fee of 30 euros for a basic card.