Payments by card up 12.5% in Q2

The value of payments by credit and debit card rose 12.5% in the second quarter (April-June) of 2024 to over €18.8 billion.

The number of transactions by card rose 15.2% to 629.2 million.

The numbers include transactions made abroad with cards issued by Greek banks.

Data show that the use of pre-paid cards is declining, with 12.9% fewer transactions in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

Debit cards are, unsurprisingly, much more prevalent: The number of debit cards belonging to Greek residents rose 2.4%, to 15.9 million, while credit cards rose 6% to 2.9 million and pre-paid cards were up 0.6% to 2.3 million. For each transaction made by credit card, 11 were made by debit card.

Greeks are increasingly buying goods and services abroad by card. In the second quarter, the number of transactions by debit card rose 29.9%...