Cyprus Statistical Service reported that the construction materials price index reached 119.28 units in February 2026 (base year 2021=100), indicating a continued increase in input costs across the sector.
Month-On-Month And Yearly Trends
Compared with January 2026, the index rose by 0.33%. On an annual basis, prices increased by 0.60% compared with February 2025, pointing to a gradual upward trend in construction costs.
Price changes varied across categories. Electromechanical products recorded the largest increase, rising by 2.27%. Wood, insulation materials, chemicals and plastics increased by 1.64%, while minerals rose by 0.94%. In contrast, metallic products declined by 0.45%, and mineral products edged down by 0.08%.
Methodology And Data Collection
Cystat’s data collection process is rigorous, relying on a monthly sample acquired via telephone and email from a range of suppliers. The reference date for price collection is the 15th of each month, and the figures are recorded exclusive of VAT to ensure clarity in assessing underlying cost movements. The index is anchored to a base year (2021), with an average index value of 100 units over the twelve months, thus serving as a benchmark to gauge price evolutions. An index of 101.56, for example, represents a 1.56% increase over the 2021 average.
Implications For The Construction Sector
The latest figures indicate that cost pressures in the construction sector remain present, although increases are moderate. Ongoing monitoring of price trends remains relevant for contractors and developers planning future projects and budgets.
payabl. Launches Click To Pay With Visa To Help Merchants Improve Checkout Conversion And Reduce Fraud
payabl. has launched Click to Pay with Visa, a new card payment experience designed to help merchants reduce checkout friction, improve authorisation rates, and deliver a faster, more secure online payment journey.
Click to Pay replaces manual card number entry with a token-based checkout experience. Once a customer’s card is enrolled, they can complete purchases in just a few clicks, without re-entering card details. The result is a faster checkout that mirrors the ease of contactless payments in-store, while maintaining strong security standards.
For merchants, the impact is measurable. According to Visa, Click to Pay can deliver up to a 11% uplift in authorisation rates compared to manual card entry, alongside significant fraud reduction through network tokenisation. Faster checkout also helps reduce cart abandonment, particularly on mobile, where typing card details remains a major source of friction.
“With online checkout, every extra step costs conversion,” said Breno Oliveira, Chief Product Officer at payabl.“Visa Click to Pay removes one of the biggest points of friction at the moment of purchase. It helps merchants approve more legitimate transactions, reduce fraud exposure, and give customers the experience they already expect.”
Visa Click to Pay is available through payabl. checkout, enabling merchants to activate the service without additional integration complexity. The solution works across devices and supports existing security flows, including 3D Secure where required.
“Consumers have come to expect a highly personalised, intuitive, and seamless payment experience, whether they’re buying a coffee, shopping online, or applying for a loan. Visa Click to Pay aims to meet these expectations by removing the need to manually enter card details, thus enhancing both security and the consumer experience in online card payments. With the support of network tokens, Visa Click to Pay enabled a more secure and smoother transaction process, available in many countries around the world. According to European VisaNet data, Visa Click to Pay may allow a 4.5% uplift in merchant sales, meaning a possible annual increase of €51 bn in SMB eCommerce sales in the UK and EU,” said Michael Ioannides, Country Manager, Visa Cyprus.
The launch forms part of payabl.’s broader focus on checkout optimisation, helping merchants improve conversion, approvals, and payment reliability at scale. Click to Pay with Visa is now live for eligible merchants across Europe.
Checkout expectations are rising across Europe
Insights from payabl.’s State of European Checkouts report underline why frictionless checkout experiences are becoming a commercial priority. The research found that consumers cite speed (46%), convenience (44%), and security (41%) as the top reasons for choosing a payment method. More than half of consumers (53%) are open to switching to newer payment methods and nearly half (48%) are open to one-click checkouts, provided the solution is backed by a trusted brand such as Visa.
“Checkout is no longer just the final step of a transaction,” said Oliveira. “It is a critical part of the overall customer experience. Our research shows that 43% of European consumers will not return to a site after a poor checkout experience. For merchants across the UK and Europe, that translates directly into lost customers and lost revenue.”
The launch forms part of payabl.’s broader focus on checkout optimisation, helping merchants improve conversion, approvals, and payment reliability at scale. Click to Pay with Visa is now live for eligible merchants across Europe.
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