Skopje, 7 October 2024 (MIA) - The National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia has published the data from the payment statistics domain for the second quarter of 2024.

The data show increasing use of payment channels in the country, especially by citizens, in the use of both payment cards and mobile applications for electronic initiation of credit transfers or so-called payment orders, the central bank’s press release reads.

"In the second quarter of 2024, a notable annual increase was recorded in both the number and value of payment transactions by citizens in the country’s commerce, with cards issued by domestic payment service providers rising by 17.2% and 16.2%, respectively. The growth in the number of payment transactions is mainly attributed to the significant annual increase in e-commerce payments in the country, which rose by 21.8%, alongside a solid 16.8% growth in payments made at POS terminals," reads the press release.

An annual growth has also been recorded in the payments made by citizens via payment orders, particularly in the number of transactions, which rose by 9.4%, while the value of completed transactions saw a smaller annual increase of 0.9%, alongside an ongoing increase in the use of e-banking for initiating these payments.

In the second quarter of this year, the number of payment transactions conducted via mobile payment applications increased by 44.3% compared to the same period in 2023, while a solid annual growth of 12.6% was also recorded in the number of transactions initiated through online banking. Thus, by using mobile payment applications, citizens executed 63.7% of the total number of electronically initiated payment orders, indicating a growing use of solutions that enable them to initiate payment transactions more quickly and easily.

Photo: MIA