Mobile wallets more popular than cards in first half of 2025
Contactless payments accounted for 87.9% of all pont-of-sale (POS) card payments in the first half of 2025, and more than half of all contactless payments now made using mobile wallets such as Apple Pay or Google Pay, rather than cards.
The latest payments analysis published in the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland’s (BPFI) Payments Monitor also found more than 1.6 billion contactless POS payments, valued at €28.3 billion, were made in shops, restaurants and other retail outlets in the 12 months to June 2025.
Gillian Byrne, head of payments, BPFI stated: “Looking at the payments trends in today’s report we can see that contactless payments continue to be very popular with Irish consumers, accounting for almost nine out of ten point of sale (POS) card payments made in shops, restaurants and other retail outlets in Ireland in the first half of 2025. The use of smartphones and watches are growing in popularity and are the preferred payment device over physical cards for many consumers. Some 58.2% of contactless payments were made using mobile wallets rather than cards in the first half of 2025 (58.8% in Q2 2025), up from 52% in the same period of 2024. Overall, there were almost 454 million mobile wallet payments in Ireland on Irish cards in H1 2025, up 19.7% on the same period in 2024.”
Looking at regional variations, Byrne added: “Dublin had the highest number of contactless and mobile wallet payments per capita in Ireland at 392 and 238, respectively, in the 12 months ending June 2025, accounting for 39.1% of all contactless payments and 41.8% of mobile wallet payments. Carlow had the second highest number of contactless payments per capita at 339 followed by Limerick with 299 and Waterford with 289. By contrast, Roscommon had the lowest contactless per capita at 139 behind Offaly with 148 and Monaghan at 157.”
Byrne continued: “As the popularity of contactless payments has grown, cash usage has fallen in recent years with less than half of POS payments in Ireland made in cash in 2024 according to European Central Bank (ECB) survey data, down from about 54% two years earlier. While cash remains of vital importance to many people, a recent consumer survey commissioned by BPFI shows that 7% of consumers say they don’t use cash, while most use it for small payments, with 54% holding less than €50 cash on hand. The ECB has noted the limitations of physical cash in an increasingly digital world and is seeking to complement it with a digital form of cash – the digital euro.
“However, there is still some uncertainty as to how a digital euro will work, reflected in the fact that almost one in four (23%) said that they did not plan to use the digital euro and 14% of consumers said they didn’t know how much digital euro they expected to hold. When asked how they would use the digital euro, just under half of respondents stated they would be likely or very likely to use a digital euro for online purchases, sending money to friends or family or for POS payments. The ECB is expected to announce the next steps for the digital euro shortly although, it is likely we will see the rollout of digital euro wallets by banks in years to come. However, the results of today’s research points to the need for raising greater consumer awareness of the digital euro and how consumers could benefit from using it in the future.”
She concluded: “Meanwhile, a recent PwC study commissioned by the European Credit Sector Associations estimates that implementing the digital euro could cost euro area banks about €18 billion – before ongoing running costs and enhancements are factored in. The focus must be on efficiency and long-term viability, giving banks and payment providers the flexibility to build on existing systems and client interfaces. This approach will optimise delivery and, ultimately, improve the consumer experience.”
The BPFI Payments Monitor is ahead of today’s FintechNation Conference at The Convention Centre Dublin, where digital payments and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) will be discussed.
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