Over €30 billion in contactless payments were made in 2025, as cash withdrawals continued to fall, according to the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), reports Breaking News.
Contactless payment volumes rose by 6.8 per cent, while their value increased by 12.6 per cent compared with 2024, reports Breaking News.
The number of cash withdrawals dropped 7.1 per cent year-on-year to 82.2 million in 2025, while the total value of withdrawals fell by 4.2 per cent to €12.2 billion.
Over 1.6 billion contactless point-of-sale (POS) payments, valued at more than €30 billion, were made in shops, restaurants, and other retail outlets in 2025, reports Breaking News.
Contactless payments now account for 88.7 per cent of all POS card transactions, with 62 per cent of these payments made using mobile wallets such as Apple Pay or Google Pay, rather than physical cards.
Conversely, cash withdrawals declined nationwide, with both the number and value of withdrawals falling year-on-year, reports Breaking News.
Gillian Byrne, head of payments at BPFI, said: “The report highlights the continued popularity of contactless payments among Irish consumers, which accounted for almost 90 per cent of all point of sale (POS) card payments made in shops, restaurants, and other retail outlets in Ireland last year, reports Breaking News.
“Of the 298 contactless payments made per person in Ireland on Irish cards in 2025, 159 were made through mobile wallets, showing that smartphones are increasingly replacing physical cards as the preferred payment method for many consumers, reports Breaking News.
She added: “While contactless payment activity continues to grow, cash withdrawal activity, including ATMs and cashback in shops, has declined. The number of cash withdrawals using cards fell by 7.1 per cent year-on-year to 82.2 million in 2025, while the value of those withdrawals fell by 4.2 per cent to €12.2 billion, reports Breaking News.
“This pattern was evident across almost all counties, with the value of cash withdrawn decreasing everywhere except Donegal, where it remained unchanged, reports Breaking News.
The relative value of transactions also highlights the trend: for every €1 in cash withdrawn in 2025, €2.46 was spent via contactless payments, up from €1.70 in 2023, reports Breaking News.
Focusing on in-person service sectors, Ms Byrne noted: “Cards are increasingly replacing cash for services such as dining, personal care, and medical appointments, reports Breaking News.
“For example, spending in general and fast-food restaurants grew by 21.9 per cent and 20.7 per cent respectively between 2023 and 2025, reaching a combined value of almost €4.5 billion in 2025, reports Breaking News.
“European Central Bank surveys indicate that card and mobile app payments accounted for 39 per cent of restaurant transactions in 2024, up from 15 per cent in 2019, while cash payments fell from 84 per cent to 57 per cent over the same period, reports Breaking News.
“While cash will continue to play an important role, the convenience and security of contactless and mobile wallet payments are driving their growing adoption among Irish consumers,” she concluded, reports Breaking News.
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