Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus recorded the euro area’s second-highest share of card payments in the first half of 2025, according to European Central Bank data published this week. Card transactions accounted for 74.5% of the country’s non-cash payments during the period.
Cyprus payment breakdown
In the first half of 2025, card payments made up 74.5% of the total number of non-cash payments in Cyprus, up 1.4 percentage points from the same period in 2024. Credit transfers represented 16.1% of transactions, up 0.3 percentage points year-on-year.
Direct debits declined slightly to 4% of total transactions. E-money payments accounted for 3.2%, down 0.6 percentage points.
Euro area comparison
Portugal recorded the highest share of card payments in the euro area in the first half of 2025 at 75.7%. Cyprus ranked second, followed by Greece at 73%, with Lithuania at 72.8%.
Euro area totals and composition
Across the euro area, the total number of non-cash payments reached 77.7 billion in the first half of 2025, a 7.7% increase compared with the same period in 2024. The total value of those transactions rose 2.9% to €116.0 trillion.
Across the euro area as a whole, card payments accounted for 57% of all non-cash transactions, followed by credit transfers at 22%, direct debits at 14% and e-money payments at 6%.
How do you expect your own payment habits to change over the next year?
