Cash is becoming less and less popular among Ukrainians
4 December 2024 11:49
Cashless payments with payment cards remain the most popular among Ukrainians. This is evidenced by the statistics on the use of payment cards issued by Ukrainian banks for the first nine months of this year, published by the National Bank of Ukraine, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Payment card transactions are mostly non-cash
The number of transactions (non-cash and cash withdrawals) in Ukraine and abroad using payment cards issued by Ukrainian banks in the first nine months of 2024 amounted to 6,392.5 million, and their amount was UAH 4,791.3 billion. Of these, 6,039.8 million transactions totaling UAH 3,105.4 billion were non-cash. This means that over 94% of payment card transactions are non-cash.
Where cards were used most often
An analysis of the distribution of non-cash transactions by their type shows that in the first nine months of this year, the largest number of card transactions by number and amount was in the trade and service networks (73.6% and 46.2%, respectively). In other words, 4,443.8 million transactions amounting to UAH 1,432.7 billion were made. Card-to-card transfers in the first nine months of 2024 accounted for one-third of the total (31.8%) and almost one-tenth by number (8.3%). Payments for goods and services on the Internet accounted for 14.4% by amount and 13.4% by number.
In the reporting period, the average amount of one transaction was UAH 322 (UAH 319 in the first nine months of 2023) in the retail and service networks, UAH 1,976 (UAH 1,986) for card-to-card transfers, and UAH 553 (UAH 479) for online payments for goods and services.
How the payment infrastructure is growing
The number of active pos-terminals in the trade and service networks increased by 8.6% (to 487.4 thousand) in September compared to January, and the number of sales and service outlets accepting payment cards increased by 10.9% (to 512.1 thousand). The ATM network decreased by almost 1% to 15.8 thousand ATMs. In the first nine months of 2024, the total number of payment cards issued in Ukraine reached 122.1 million, up 6% compared to January of this year.
Ukrainians prefer contactless payments
The total number of contactless payment cards is growing. As of September this year, the number of cards increased by 9% compared to January. Overall, more than half (61.4%) of active payment cards in September were contactless cards.
The number of payment cards with which monthly expenditure transactions were made is also increasing. Thus, the number of active cards increased by 5% – from 51.6 million in January to 54.1 million in September.
The number of cards in the wallets of Ukrainians
In the first nine months of 2024, the total number of payment cards issued in Ukraine reached 122.1 million, an increase of 6% compared to January of this year.
