The FINANCIAL — The number of debit cards continues to rise in Georgia, however more than half of card transactions are comprised of ATM cash withdrawals.
During this year the number of cardholders preferring to pay via POS-terminals has increased by 3%. The number of ATM withdrawal transactions as of the end of September 2013 is 3,174,487, while POS-terminal transactions amounted to 2,341,843 during the same period.
The number of transactions has increased by more than 1 million from September 2012 to September 2013. As of the end of the third quarter of the current year the number amounted to 5,516,330, up from 4,489,178 from September 2012. Cash withdrawal was also dominating a year ago, as it occupied 60% out of the total amount of transactions. Therefore, this year’s data shows a 3% reduction in cash withdrawals.
4,489,178 is the number of transactions as of September 2012, out of which 2,694,446 (60%) were made up of ATM withdrawals.
The share of cash in Georgia’s GDP, as of the end of June 2013, was equal to 6.9%, compared to the figure of 7.8% three years ago.
According to NBG, the number of debit cards in circulation as of the end of September 2013 totalled 4,525,430, up from 4,496,872 at the end of August 2013.
The number of ATM and POS-terminals is also increasing. The number of ATMs in Georgia as of the end of 2013 is 2,040, up from 1,836 in September of the previous year. More than 2,000 new POS-terminals have been distributed in merchant and service outlets as of the end of 2013, in comparison with the same period of last year. In total their number reached 12,893.
“The Georgian card payment market is characterized by a high rate of introducing innovative products. Next to commercial banks, the Government has also played a big role in the development of card payments. Namely, launching pensions and all the social benefits started via banking channels; public service employee salaries are bound to their personal bank accounts; in a number of schools cash payment has become limited,” said Giorgi Melashvili, Executive Director at National Bank of Georgia.
“As the statistics show, cardholders are using their cards more and more in sales/service facilities in order to carry out payments. Although this data is still limited, the withdrawal of cash in ATM transactions in respect to non-cash payments by credit card is greater, but the trend has been steadily increasing in recent years,” said Melashvili.
In Melashvili’s words, Georgians are increasingly using electronic payments: payment cards, electronic money, internet banking or mobile banking. Accordingly, NBG is interested in making them more safe, comfortable to use and secure. “In this regard, we are working on the relevant rules of consumer protection and electronic payment instruments,” he said.
In Melashvili’s words, the main advantages of non-cash are: security, as it reduces the risk of carrying cash; convenience – unlike cash it is easy to carry, secure while travelling or is not required to carry at all; time-saving – you can order goods and services over the internet from your very home; operational control of the account transactions via SMS, online, mobile banking and other remote sources; participation in various promos and discounts.”
Transactions via the internet are also on the rise in Georgia. The number of transactions totalled 850,339 units, GEL 31,429 thousand, as of the end of September 2013. During the same period of last year the number was 591,655 units, amounting to GEL 27,635 thousand.
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