The information contained in the study is of interest to all market participants affected by the payment behaviour of private individuals, most notably retailers, credit institutions, card issuers and, last but not least, the Deutsche Bundesbank itself. Players wishing to foster more innovation in the field of payments need to offer a genuine advantage over established schemes and procedures and, in particular, to heed users’ perceived security needs.

The January 2018 edition of the Monthly Report describes how the internationalisation of German firms is impacting on domestic investment and analyses the importance of banks’ profitability and capital for monetary policy. It also looks at developments in corporate financing in the euro area and includes an article on the finalisation of Basel III.