European Central Bank report finds card payments reached 70 billion in 2023 and international schemes handled 61% of euro area transactions

The European Central Bank published its latest report on card schemes and processors, showing that card payments are now the EU’s dominant electronic payment method and highlighting growing reliance on international card schemes and cross-border processing providers that are not fully EU-owned. Card payments accounted for 70 billion payments in 2023, representing 54% of all non-cash transactions in the EU. The report identifies only nine national card schemes active in the EU, each operating in a single Member State, with declining domestic market shares; 13 euro area countries rely entirely on international schemes for card transactions. International card schemes accounted for approximately 61% of euro area card payments in 2022 (39% for national schemes), with national schemes’ share at 37% when euro area cardholders’ transactions with non-euro area merchants are included. On processing, 80 providers were identified in the EU, including four major cross-border processors; while single-country processors are mostly EU-headquartered, none of the cross-border processors could be identified as fully EU-owned. The analysis draws on data gathered via a consultation with the European System of Central Banks, covering all 27 national central banks, with data submitted as at February 2024, and includes an outlook on the evolution of card schemes and processing entities across Member States.