In 2013, an upward trend in cashless payments took hold. The Ukrainians in most regions are getting accustomed to the idea of using payment instruments when paying for services and goods.

As of January 1, 2014, the number of active payment cards in circulation amounted to 35,622 thousand, being by 2,515 thousand more than in 2012. The payment card market was dominated by magnetic stripe cards (33,277 thousand). The cards with a magnetic stripe and a chip amounted to 1, 536 thousand.

An upward trend in the number of payment cards is accompanied by an increase in the turnover and volume of payment card transactions. In 2013, the total value of transactions performed using payment cards issued by Ukrainian banks amounted to UAH 916,027 million, having increased by UAH 174,547 million as compared with 2012. The value of cashless payments grew by UAH 67,577 million, as compared with 2012, and reached UAH 159,138 million. The value of cash withdrawal transactions amounted to UAH 756,889 million, having increased by UAH 107,030 million as compared with 2012.

“These data point to the increasing popularity of cashless payments, which is in line with global trends. The payment card holders tend to favor cashless payments as they are aware that these payments are convenient, secure and cost-efficient. There is an ascending trend in the number of cashless payments for goods and services, which is underpinned by the enhanced infrastructure that has seen an increase in ATMs and POS terminals,” said Deputy Director of General Department of Information Technologies and Payment Systems Inna Tiutiun.

In regional breakdown, the largest number of payment cards and extensive accompanying infrastructure (ATMs and POS terminals) were concentrated in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk Oblasts.

As of January 1, 2014, 40,350 ATMs had been installed in Ukraine, being by 4,198 more than in 2012. The total number of POS terminals increased by 58,498, as compared with 2012, and reached 221,222. The number of POS terminals at retailers grew by 58,367, as compared with 2012, and totaled 192,331, whereas those at banks amounted to 28,891 (by 131 more than in 2012).

According to Ms Inna Tiutiun, as of January 1, 2014, PJSC "CB PRIVATBANK", JSC "Oschadbank", and PJSC "Raiffeisen Bank Aval" took the lead in terms of the number of payment cards and extensive accompanying infrastructure.

As of January 1, 2014, 143 banks were members of the payment card systems.