The National Bank of Serbia published payment system statistics indicating continued growth in payment card usage at Serbian merchants in the first half of 2025, including higher volumes of both domestically issued card transactions and purchases made by foreign tourists. In the second quarter of 2025, 185.5 million purchases were made with cards issued by domestic payment service providers, up 18.4% compared with the same period in 2024, while foreign tourists made 13.9 million purchases, an 8.9% increase. Over the past five years, the average half-year growth rate in card transactions was 20.5%, with total POS payment card transactions rising 2.1 times from 177.7 million in 2021 to 375.1 million purchases in 2025; foreign tourists accounted for 6.7% of purchases in the first half of 2025 (domestic issuers 93.3%). The merchant acquiring network exceeded 177,000 POS terminals at end-June 2025, up 19.0% from mid-2024 and 61.4% compared with five years earlier, while the ATM network reached 3,196 machines in mid-2025, up 2.0% year on year (and 2.4% versus mid-2021).
National Bank of Serbia 2025-09-10
National Bank of Serbia reports 18.4% year-on-year increase in domestic card purchases and 177,000 POS terminals by end-June 2025
The National Bank of Serbia reported a significant increase in payment card usage at Serbian merchants in H1 2025, with domestic card transactions rising 18.4% and foreign tourist purchases up 8.9% year-on-year. The merchant acquiring network expanded to over 177,000 POS terminals, a 19.0% increase from mid-2024, while the ATM network grew to 3,196 machines, up 2.0% year-on-year.