Czech market trend: contactless accounts for half of total card transactions in 2015

According to the Czech National Bank (CNB), in 2015 the number of cards with contactless functionality was 8.7 million, accounting for 75% of the total 11.6 million cards. Similarly, the number of contactless transactions reached 369.2 million in 2015 - which accounted for 48.5% of the countrys total payment card transactions. In February 2014, Komercní Banka in collaboration with Visa, launched a contactless debit card that enables consumers to pay without inserting the card or entering a PIN at the POS terminals for payments of up to USD 20.4.

In the context of the increasing ecommerce market, there is a rise in the usage of alternative payment methods across the country, including Paysafecard, Ukash, PayPal and MasterPass, according to the report.

In November 2014 MasterCard launched the MasterPass digital wallet. MasterPass allows consumers to store payment card, shipping and billing address details in one place. Initially, only lza.cz, Czech Railways and DameJidlo.cz accepted payments. In December 2015, MasterCard extended the payment platform to FreshDirect customers, an online fresh food supplier, to provide the option of paying through MasterPass for their online purchase.