Spain Sees Rapid Increase in Digital Payments Amid Declining Cash Use
Spain's digital payment transactions surged 10.5% in H2 2024, reflecting a significant shift from cash to electronic methods.
Key Points
- • 10.5% increase in non-cash payment transactions in H2 2024, totaling 9.358 billion.
- • Card payments accounted for 65.5% of cashless transactions, with an average value of €32.4.
- • Contactless payments comprised 94.3% of card transactions, rising 14.3% year-on-year.
- • 82% of Spanish consumers prefer electronic payments in stores, far surpassing the European average.
Spain is experiencing a remarkable shift towards digital payment systems, as indicated by the Bank of Spain's latest report detailing a 10.5% rise in non-cash payment transactions in the second half of 2024. This surge resulted in 9.358 billion transactions totaling €6.5 trillion, a 9.5% increase compared to the previous year. Among non-cash methods, card payments dominate, comprising 65.5% of all transactions with an impressive 6.133 billion transactions at an average value of €32.4.
Notably, contactless payments have gained significant popularity, making up 94.3% of card transactions and totaling 4.731 billion operations, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 14.3%. Furthermore, the shift to online transactions is evident, with 18.2% of card-based payments occurring remotely via digital platforms, which constitute 28.2% of the overall transaction volume in euros.
High-value transactions reveal that transfers remain the preferred payment method, accounting for 88.5% of the total value paid through non-cash means despite representing only 16.4% of total operations. In H2 2024 alone, 1.530 billion transfers were made—a 15.6% rise from the previous year—driven by the popularity of immediate transfers, which have increased by 16.7%. These immediate transactions now constitute over 30% of the total, amounting to €65 billion.
Looking at electronic money, platforms like PayPal and fintech applications witnessed rapid growth, with transactions rising by 27% and total economic volume increasing by a remarkable 37.1%, reaching €7.7 billion. However, this segment still holds a modest 1.6% share of total payment operations. Meanwhile, direct debits have seen a steady increase as well, growing by 3.2% in number and 4.7% in value.
Acknowledging Spain's position in the digital payment landscape, the country boasts 114 million active payment cards—about 2.2 per person—and a robust infrastructure of 4.26 million points of sale (POS), 95% of which accept contactless payments. The trend away from cash is further highlighted by a 1.6% decline in the number of ATMs.
Consumer preferences also reflect the growing acceptance of digital methods, with 82% of Spanish shoppers opting for electronic payments in stores, significantly higher than the European average of 65%. This transition is largely attributed to changing habits triggered by the pandemic, the growth of online shopping, and advancements in fintech.
Despite the promising growth of digital payments, experts caution that this transformation must address fiscal, regulatory, and social challenges, emphasizing the importance of ensuring universal access to payment options while maintaining the availability of cash and enhancing cybersecurity in a digital-first environment.