Retail payment services 2022

Abstract

Norway is one of the countries in the world with the highest annual use of payment cards per inhabitant. On average, each Norwegian used a card 531 times in 2022. In 2022, 86 percent of payments made at physical payment terminals were contactless. The vast majority of these payments were made with physical cards. Even though the number of payments using mobile phones, watches or wristbands has multiplied over the past two years, they still only account for approximately 6 percent of contactless payments at physical payment terminals and about 4 percent of all payments at physical payment terminals. For several years, card use for online purchases has risen sharply. Card use abroad and the use of different mobile payment apps at physical points of sale (POS) has also recently shown a sharp increase. This has contributed to an increase in the market share of international cards because only they can be used in such payment situations. In 2022, international cards accounted for 43 percent of card payments, up from 37 percent in 2021. Cash use has fallen over a long period but has remained stable in most recent years. Norges Bank’s latest survey shows that 3 percent of survey participants used cash in their most recent payments at physical points of sale. Despite low cash use, demand for cash has increased over the past year. For the first time in a long time, the number of ATM and POS withdrawals edged up.