Card payments grow 5% in Q2: Bank of Finland

A total of 595 million card payments were made using Finnish payment cards, which was 30 million or 5 percent more than in the same period a year earlier, according to Bank of Finland.

The aggregate value of card payments amounted to EUR 17.8 billion in the second quarter, which was 4% more than a year earlier, said an official release on Friday.

More card payments initiated on computer or mobile device than a year earlier

A total of 88 million remote card payments were initiated on a computer or mobile device in the second quarter of 2023, which was 16% more than in the same period last year.

The aggregate value of remote card payments (EUR 3.5 billion) was 21% higher than in the corresponding period a year earlier.

The aggregate value of contactless payments increased by EUR 912 million (19%) compared to the first quarter of 2023, to stand at EUR 5.8 billion in the second quarter.

At the same time, 369 million card payments were made using the contactless method, which was 17% more than in the first quarter of this year.

The number of card payments made using a microchip or magnetic stripe increased by 15% from the first quarter to 136 million transactions in the second quarter. In terms of aggregate value, these payments grew by EUR 1.3 billion (19%) from the first quarter of 2023 to EUR 8.4 billion.

In the 2023 second quarter, cards issued in other euro area countries than Finland were used in 20% fewer payments in value than in the first quarter, and the aggregate value of these payments was EUR 0.2 billion.

In the same period, cards issued outside the EU were used to make a total of EUR 0.2 billion of payments in Finland, which was 6% less than in the second quarter of 2022.

The aggregate value of payments made in other euro area countries using Finnish payment cards totalled EUR 1.4 billion in the second quarter of 2023, which was 20% more than in the first quarter. The aggregate value of card transactions on Finnish payment cards outside the EU was EUR 0.4 billion in the second quarter of 2023, i.e. 1% less than in the first quarter.