Last year, 1.5 billion transactions were made thanks to mobile phones and internet shopping.
For the first time ever, Austrians took out their debit card 1.5 billion times to pay last year. That was an increase of 14 percent, according to ATM operator PSA, which is owned by local banks.
That was the strongest day
The strongest day was December 22 with 6.2 million transactions, about a third more than normal. Actual cash withdrawals from ATMs continue to decline slightly; in 2023 we will have only used it 109 million times.
However, the growth drivers were cash payments, especially at the checkout in stores (+15% compared to 2022), but also on the internet. PSA boss Harald Flatscher: “You can now use all debit cards in e-commerce; payments for online shopping already account for nine percent of all transactions.”
Smartphones are also becoming increasingly popular
In addition, the smartphone is now widely used as a means of payment. 40 percent of debit cards are already digitally stored on mobile phones, Flatscher expects further growth in mobile phone payments.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
