Recent data from the Central Bank of Cyprus provides a clearer picture of how payment behavior is changing across the country. In the first half of 2025, small everyday purchases were mostly made with cards, while larger payments were primarily carried out through credit transfers. With an average value of €4,496, credit transfers accounted for 84% of the total transaction value, reflecting a pattern similar to the wider euro area.
Shifting Payment Preferences
An analysis of the ten most valuable categories of goods and services purchased with Cypriot cards highlights a clear divide between in-store and online spending. Payments to payment institutions represented the largest share at 14% (€912 million), followed by government-related payments at nearly 12% (€768 million) and supermarket purchases at 11% (€690 million). Transactions involving payment institutions and government services were conducted mostly online, at 100% and 89% respectively, while supermarket purchases were overwhelmingly made in person, reaching 99%.
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Card Penetration And Consumer Adoption
By the end of the first half of 2025, the number of payment cards in circulation had risen by 7% compared to the same period in 2024, reaching a total of 2 million cards. This equates to roughly two cards per resident, pointing to broad adoption of digital payment methods throughout the country.
Corporate Transactions And Payment Instruments
Businesses continue to favor credit transfers, mainly because they offer stronger security, lower transaction costs, and better control over payment timing for higher-value operations. Across the euro area, the average corporate credit transfer reached €6,403 and represented 92% of total transaction value in H1 2025. Cheques, although steadily declining in use, still accounted for 6% of value with an average amount of €3,807, indicating that traditional payment tools have not disappeared entirely.
Online Versus Point‐of‐Sale Card Transactions
Across the euro area, card usage remains more common in physical stores, with 81% of transactions by volume taking place at point of sale and 19% online. In value terms, the split is 70% in-store and 30% online. Cyprus follows a similar pattern, though the average transaction size differs notably: approximately €37 at POS terminals compared with €125 online. This gap suggests that consumers are more inclined to use digital channels for higher-value purchases.
Advancements In Contactless Payments And ATM Deployment
Payment infrastructure has also seen gradual changes. The number of ATMs in Cyprus increased slightly from 397 at the end of H1 2024 to 405 by H1 2025, largely due to installations in remote and mountainous areas aimed at maintaining cash accessibility. About 72% of ATMs now support contactless transactions. Despite an overall 12% decline in ATM numbers over the past five years in both Cyprus and the broader euro area, the average withdrawal amount in Cyprus rose by 28%, climbing from €291 in H1 2022 to €372 in H1 2025.
Overall, the data points to a steady shift toward digital and credit-based payments in both Cyprus and the wider European market, while cash and traditional instruments continue to play a smaller but still visible role in everyday financial behavior.
