New analysis reveals rise in proportion of contactless payments in DACH, Nordics: Nets

By Megha Bhattacharya

A recent analysis by Nets has revealed that consumer behaviour in Europe has changed with the proportion of contactless payments continuously increasing in the DACH region and the Nordics. In the Nordic countries, contactless payment also rose significantly during the pandemic – from an average of around 56% across all countries at the beginning of the year to 74% in November.

Germany recorded 73% of contactless payments in November, with Austria standing at 77 % and Switzerland (81%). In Denmark the contactless payment ratio is 87%, putting the country in the lead in the overall country rankings. In Norway, the proportion rose from just 35 % in January to a remarkable 78 % in November and is now even higher than in Finland (70%) and Sweden (61%).

“We see a fast-developing digitisation trend here and are therefore at a turning point in European payments,” said Robert Hoffmann, CEO, Merchant Services at Nets A/S. “Many long-held reservations about cashless and contactless payment have been permanently overcome, which opens up new perspectives and offers great further growth potential for digital payments – especially in the DACH region,” said Hoffmann.

​An evaluation by the European Central Bank (ECB) published at the beginning of December shows that at the end of 2019, at 73%, cash was still the most frequently used means of payment in the euro area but the trend has changed. In terms of sales volume, 48% have already paid more cashless than with coins or bills.

Recently, Nets announced a partnership with open banking platform Fabrick for facilitating the development of products, services and new ecosystem business opportunities in the Instant Payments space. The companies aim to create new solutions for delivering revenue streams for their new and existing clients.