In 2022, Croatian citizens conducted a total of 682.34 million card payment transactions, which is 13.1 percent more than in 2021, with a total value of 230.67 billion kuna, representing an increase of 14.6 percent, according to data from the Croatian National Bank (HNB) published on Wednesday.
At the end of last year, a total of two electronic money institutions and 21 credit institutions issued payment cards, as stated in the new HNB publication “Payment Cards and Card Transactions – 2022.”
The HNB also notes that there have been changes in the domestic card market in recent years based on technologies that affect payment methods. Some payment methods today are unrecognizable compared to the prevailing payment methods from ten years ago, as cards are now added to various digital wallets used for purchasing goods and services, applications that allow for cost-sharing during payments are utilized, and smartwatches are used to initiate payments, among other innovations.
Payment cards are increasingly used for online purchases, the HNB emphasizes, noting that in the last three years, the total number of transactions for purchasing goods and services with payment cards via the internet or mobile phones has increased by 30 percent, while the value has risen by 48 percent, reaching 7.25 billion kuna.
Additionally, as a result of the continuous growth of card payments and the increasing number of innovative payment methods based on card technologies, a trend of gradual but constant growth in the share of transactions paid by card compared to those paid in cash has been observed in recent years.
However, when discussing the ratios of card and cash payments in the past period, approximately one in four fiscalized receipts was paid by card, while the remaining three receipts were paid in cash. Nevertheless, consumers in Croatia are increasingly choosing payment cards as a means of settling bills (especially for larger amounts), and the share of bills paid by card could soon exceed one-third, the HNB highlights.
