European Central Bank (ECB) has conducted “Study on the payment attitudes of consumers in the euro area (SPACE) 2022”, revealing the growth of contactless card payments in the EU

Image: unspalsh
ECB survey of consumer payment habits revealed that more than six in ten (62%) card payments made at POS across the eurozone are now contactless, compared to 41% in 2019.
Besides, contactless card payments now account for half of all in-store card transaction values in the EU, up from 27% in 2019. In some countries, that proportion significantly rises: 74% in Slovenia, 75% in Slovakia and 81% in Cyprus.
Nevertheless cash was still the king of last year transactions. It was the most frequently used payment method at the POS in the euro area, accounting for 59% of all transactions. However, the dominance of cash saw significant decline from 79% in 2016 and 72% in 2019. Those who reported using cash less often stated that paying electronically has become more convenient.
Meanwhile, card payments were used in 34% of POS transactions, up from 19% in 2016 and 25% in 2019. While cash was most frequently used for small value payments, for payments over €50, cards were the most frequently used method.
The proportion of POS transactions made using a mobile app has also risen from less than 1% to 3% by volume and from 1% to 4% by value since 2019.
As for the P2P payments, cash dominated in 73% of the total payments, covering 59% in terms of value. At the same time, the share of cashless payment means, particularly mobile phone apps, increased between 2019 and 2022, from 3% to 10%, and rose from 4% to 11% in terms of value.
Finally, the share of online payments in non-recurring payments increased from 6% in 2019 to 17% in 2022.
SEE ALSO:
Norway, Finland and New Zealand are closest to becoming cashless
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Release Contactless Payment Devices
Contactless Mobile Payments to Surpass 1 Billion Users for First Time in 2024: Research