Few, perhaps, could have predicted the current developments in the penetration of plastic and later digital money in our country, in the late 1980s, the 1988 specifically, when Credit Bank (now Alpha Bank) released it first banking and credit card in GREECE.

A card that was a combination of a credit card and a cash withdrawal and deposit card.

In his mid-teens 1990 debit cards, according to data from EET, barely exceeded the number of 360,000 while the credit ones had exceeded one million in number.

With the partial liberalization of consumer credit in Greece, in 1994, and the full liberalization in the early 2000s, the number of credit and debit cards began to grow rapidly. As a result at the end of 2004 credit cards to exceed 5.4 million and debit cards to exceed 5.3 million.

The ten-year economic crisis that followed slowed down their growth rate, but ground that was overshadowed by two decisive events: the imposition of capital controls the middle of 2015 and the pandemic with the lock down internationally and domestically in 2020. Events leading to almost universal use of cards payments from almost the entire population.

Today, card payments account for 73% of the total number of non-cash payments.

But where are we today and what are the trends?

Payment cards are today a stable means of carrying out payment transactions as seen by the continued increase in both their number and value in 2023. According to the latest data from the BoE, in December 2023 the total number of active payment cards in circulation amounted to 20.7 million.

Breaking down the individual card categories:

– There is a marginal increase in the number of debit cards by 0.1% to 17.6 million cards.

– The number of prepaid cards showed a marginal decrease of 1% compared to December 2023 and reached 2.3 million.

– Regarding the number of credit cards, there is an increase of 4%, with the number of these amounting to 3.1 million cards,

– The increase in the number of virtual cards issued by 8% compared to the previous year 2022, to 136,000 cards at the end of 2023.

The total number of payment card transactions in 2023 increased to 2,211 million, from 1,930 million in 2022 (+15% change). Correspondingly, the total value of payment card transactions amounted to €103 billion from €94 billion, up 9% compared to the previous year

From the analysis of the data by type of card, according to data from the Bank of Greece, the increase in the number of transactions with debit cards to 2,042 million, from 1,775 million in 2022 (change +15%). Debit cards still account for 92% of the total number of transactions with all types of payment cards.

Accordingly, the number of transactions with credit cards increased by 9%, reaching 169 million, from 154 million in 2022, while their share in the total number of transactions rose to 8%. The average number of transactions per card in 2023 increased by 14% to 107 transactions, from 94 transactions the previous year.

The analysis by individual card categories shows that the change in the average number of transactions per card is due to the increase in the average number of transactions per debit card to 115 transactions, from 101 transactions in 2022. The average value of transactions per card increased by 9% and amounted to 4,948 euros, from 4,556 euros in 2022

Analyzing the changes in the average value of transactions in the individual card categories, it is observed that the change is mainly due to the increase in the average value of transactions per debit card by 9% to 5,365 euros, from 4,898 euros in 2022. The average value of transactions per credit card increased by 2 % to 2,547 euros, from 2,501 euros the previous year.

The average value per transaction of both debit and credit cards continues its downward trend and reached 46 euros in 2023, compared to 48 euros in 2022 (change -4.5%). This decrease is possibly due to the increasing use of debit cards for the purchase of products and services of small value. 2.3

The data from the European Central Bank (ECB) for the first half of 2023 are also of interest, as the importance of cards in the Eurozone and -even more- in Greece is highlighted.

Eurozone: Card payments account for 54% of the total number of cashless payments in the first half of 2023 (52% in the first half of 2022), credit transfers at 22% (21.8% in the first half of 2022), direct debits to 15% (from 17.5% in the first half of 2022) and electronic money payments to 7% (from 6.7% in the first half of 2022).

Greece: Card payments account for 73% of the total number of cashless payments in the first half of 2023 (72.3% in the first half of 2022), credit transfers at 22.8% (23.2% in the first half of 2023 of 2022), direct debits at 1.2% (from 1.3% in the first half of 2022) and electronic money payments at 1.8% (unchanged from the first half of 2022).