Cash Withdrawals by Card Fall While In-Store Card Payments Rise
In the first nine months of 2026, 3.614 billion euros in cash was withdrawn with payment cards, 1.9% less than a year earlier. Card payments in shops reached 5.665 billion euros, up 6%.
Payment card data published by the Latvian business daily Dienas Bizness show that cash withdrawals by card fell in the first nine months of 2026, while card payments for goods and services kept growing. The figures show how spending is split this year and how far consumers and companies choose cashless payments.
Cash
Cash withdrawn with payment cards over the nine months totalled 3.614 billion euros. That is 1.9%, or 68.877 million euros, less than in the same period last year.
Shops and transport
Card payments in shops came to 5.665 billion euros, 6% more than in the first nine months of 2025. Retail stores accounted for 3.249 billion euros (+3.8%), clothing stores for 418.826 million euros (+5.3%) and other shops for 1.997 billion euros (+10%).
Cards were used to pay 731.926 million euros for passenger cars and other vehicles, up 14.6%. Payments for transport services reached 379.135 million euros, up only 0.3%.
Services and entertainment
Professional services accounted for 323.123 million euros (+12.1%) and entertainment for 198.394 million euros (+17.5%). Hotels and other accommodation took 158.956 million euros, which is 21.4% more. Business services stood at 137.108 million euros (+12.8%) and utilities at 105.588 million euros (+27.4%).
Card payments to airlines totalled 132.75 million euros, 2% less than a year earlier. Repair services accounted for 50.438 million euros (+15.1%), car rental for 36.398 million euros (+17.3%) and agricultural services for 23.924 million euros (+16.8%).
