131 million online and mobile payments were made in 2021, up 85% on 2016 levels. New figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland confirm that digital payments are continuing to rise rapidly, as consumers further reduce their reliance on cash and cheques.
The number of digital payments made last year increased by over 10% compared to 2020, while the number of cheques issued reached a new low.
Just 20 million payments were made via cheques last year, down almost 15% on 2020. Direct debits, which are mainly used to pay bills grew by 0.7% to 139 million last year.
The figures also reveal that card spending reached a new high last year, with contactless payments accounting for more than half of all payments.