Commentary on payment statistics

CNB commentary on the published data for 2025 H2

In the second half of 2025, the trend towards cashless payments continued to strengthen. Both the number and value of card payments and credit transfers continued to increase, while the use of cash declined further, as reflected in lower numbers of ATM cash withdrawals and over-the-counter transactions. These developments were also reflected in the payment infrastructure – the number of payment terminals increased, while the number of ATMs fell below 5,000. At the same time, cross-border payment activity increased, both in payments by non-residents in the Czech Republic and in payments by residents abroad.

Payment Cards and Accepting Devices

The number of payment cards and accepting devices continued to increase. The total number of cards exceeded 17.4 million, with debit cards accounting for the dominant share. The number of credit cards increased only slightly. The number of ATMs fell below 5,000, confirming their long-term decline. The number of point-of-sale (POS) terminals increased to 285,000.

Numbers of Payments

The number of cashless payments continued to increase, particularly card payments and credit transfers. The number of card payments exceeded 3.3 billion in 2025, with debit cards accounting for approximately 95% of them. The number of credit transfers remained high and has exceeded 300 million per quarter over the long term. By contrast, the number of cash withdrawals using cards declined further to around 140 million a year. Fraudulent transactions remained low in relative terms, although the number of fraudulent credit transfers increased slightly.

Payment Values

The value of cashless payments continued to increase, particularly card payments, whose value reached almost CZK 2 trillion in 2025. By contrast, the value of credit transfers edged down to CZK 162 trillion. The value of ATM cash withdrawals remained broadly stable at around CZK 922 billion, contrasting with the more dynamic growth in cashless transactions.

Transactions by Location

Both the number and value of transactions at resident accepting devices using cards issued by residents continued to increase, with the number of transactions exceeding 2 billion in 2025. Cross-border payment activity increased significantly, both in transactions by foreign visitors in the Czech Republic and in payments by residents abroad. Over-the-counter cash transactions continued to decline, reaching historically low levels.