Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus recorded the euro area’s highest proportion of card payments among non-cash transactions in the second half of 2025, according to a Central Bank of Cyprus report published on Wednesday. Total non-cash payment volumes rose 8 per cent year on year to 174 million transactions, while their value increased 9 per cent to €148 billion.
Growth in non-cash payments
The Central Bank of Cyprus said Cypriots continued to shift towards digital payment methods, with increases in both the volume and value of non-cash transactions during the second half of 2025.
The report is based on data from all Cyprus-resident payment service providers, including credit institutions, payment institutions and electronic money institutions. It examines payment volumes, values and wider developments in the country’s payments ecosystem.
The central bank described the payments market as “the engine of the economy”, shaped by payment methods serving the different needs of consumers and businesses.
Card payments lead transactions
Card payments remained the dominant non-cash payment method by volume in Cyprus, accounting for 75 per cent of all transactions. Credit transfers represented 16 per cent, or almost one-fifth of the volume of card payments.
The CBC said Cyprus had the highest share of card payments as a proportion of total non-cash transactions in the euro area during the period.
It attributed the trend to the convenience and speed of card payments, widespread use of contactless technology, the expansion of e-commerce and growing merchant acceptance of electronic payments.
Euro area comparison
Across the euro area, non-cash payment volumes increased 7 per cent to 83 billion transactions in the second half of 2025, while their total value remained broadly unchanged at €118 trillion.
Card payments were also the most commonly used payment instrument across the euro area, although they accounted for 57 per cent of non-cash transaction volumes. Credit transfers represented 21 per cent.
