Card payments in Cyprus continue to rise, according to data published on Thursday by the European Central Bank, placing the country second in the eurozone for card use as a share of non cash transactions.
During the first half of 2025, card payments accounted for 74.5 percent of the total number of cashless transactions in Cyprus, marking an increase of 1.4 percentage points compared with the same period in 2024.
Breakdown of non cash payments in Cyprus
According to the data, credit transfers represented 16.1 percent of transactions in the first half of 2025, recording an annual increase of 0.3 percentage points. Direct debits accounted for 4 percent, down by 0.1 percentage points, while electronic money payments stood at 3.2 percent, reflecting a decrease of 0.6 percentage points.
Portugal leads, Cyprus second
In the eurozone comparison, Portugal recorded the highest share of card payments as a percentage of total non cash transactions in the first half of 2025, at 75.7 percent.
Cyprus followed in second place with 74.5 percent. Greece ranked third with 73 percent, followed closely by Lithuania at 72.8 percent.
Across the euro area, the total number of non cash payments reached 77.7 billion in the first half of 2025, an increase of 7.7 percent compared with the first half of 2024. The total value of these transactions amounted to €116.0 trillion, up 2.9 percent year on year.
Card payments accounted for 57 percent of the total number of non cash payments in the eurozone during the first half of 2025. Credit transfers represented 22 percent, direct debits 14 percent, and electronic money payments 6 percent.