The missing layer in payment market analysis

Payment Data Monitor (PDM) provides the first standardized, cross-country intelligence framework for retail payment markets - harmonised KPIs, consistent methodology, strategy-ready outputs.

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EURO AREA RETAIL PAYMENTS · 2025
Total Retail Payment Market ~209 bn trx. · incl. cash
Point of Sale 80% · 167 bn trx.
Cash Cards Mobile Other
E-Commerce 16% · 34 bn trx.
Cards E-Pay Other Instant
Person-to-Person 4% · 8 bn trx.
Cash Mobile apps CT Instant Other

Payment data exists.
Comparable intelligence doesn't.

Every market entry, benchmarking exercise, or M&A review runs into the same wall.

Fragmented & Inconsistent

Payment data is scattered across central banks, scheme reports, and national statistics - with incompatible definitions, different scopes, and no common methodology.

The Cash Blind Spot

Total retail payment market size - including cash - has not been consistently measurable across countries. Teams work with rough estimates or expensive primary research.

No Cross-Country Layer

Comparing payment markets across Germany, France, Italy, or the Netherlands means rebuilding the dataset from scratch each time - with ad hoc Excel files and inconsistent benchmarks.

The Solution

A standardised intelligence layer for all markets

Payment Data Monitor turns publicly available payment statistics into a consistent, comparable dataset - currently covering all 20 Euro Area member states with a full instrument breakdown.

01
Total Market Sizing - Including Cash

We estimate total retail payment volumes including cash, calibrated from publicly available data sources - the figure the market has never had on a consistent, cross-country basis.

02
Full Instrument Breakdown

Cash, cards, credit transfers, direct debits, mobile payments, and A2A methods - all defined consistently and directly comparable across countries and years.

03
PoS · E-Commerce · P2P Use Cases

Segmented view across all three payment contexts - including instant P2P flows and A2A online methods (iDEAL, open banking) that traditional card statistics systematically miss.

04
PDM Digital Maturity Index

A composite score across four dimensions - from non-cash penetration to instant payment share - enabling direct country-to-country benchmarking and trend analysis.

View Sample Report (2024 Edition)
Market Coverage

All 20 Euro Area member states

Full coverage across the Euro Area spanning the complete spectrum from cash-heavy to near-cashless markets.

DE
Germany
Europe's largest economy. Cash-transitioning market with strong direct debit culture and accelerating digital payments.
Cash-transitioning
FR
France
Card-driven market with deep Carte Bancaire penetration and advanced contactless infrastructure.
Card-dominant
IT
Italy
High-growth transformation market driven by regulatory incentives and rapid merchant acceptance expansion.
High-growth
ES
Spain
Mature card market with strong contactless adoption and unique tourism-driven payment infrastructure dynamics.
Card-mature
NL
Netherlands
The iDEAL special case - dominant A2A online payments make NL the critical open banking benchmark.
A2A pioneer
BE
Belgium
Diverse market bridging French and Germanic payment cultures with strong Bancontact card infrastructure.
Card-mature
AT
Austria
Cash-traditional market undergoing rapid digital transition; strong card growth and high contactless share.
Cash-transitioning
PT
Portugal
Card-driven market with high Multibanco penetration, strong contactless adoption, and significant tourism flows.
Card-dominant
IE
Ireland
Highly digital market with strong fintech ecosystem and accelerating instant payment adoption.
Digital-advanced
GR
Greece
Market with government-mandated digital payment initiatives driving rapid card adoption rates.
High-growth
FI
Finland
Near-cashless digital benchmark - highest non-cash transaction density in the Euro Area.
Cashless leader
SK
Slovakia
Fast-growing Central European market with increasing card penetration and strong SEPA CT infrastructure.
High-growth
LU
Luxembourg
Small but significant financial centre - cross-border payment volumes disproportionately high relative to population.
Financial hub
SI
Slovenia
Advanced Central European digital market with high contactless share and growing e-commerce adoption.
Digital-advanced
LT
Lithuania
Baltic digital pioneer with strong instant payment adoption via CENTROlink and high fintech density.
Instant leader
LV
Latvia
Transitioning Baltic market with strong instant payment infrastructure and rapidly growing card volumes.
High-growth
EE
Estonia
Highly digital Baltic economy with historically strong e-government and digital payment culture.
Cashless leader
CY
Cyprus
Mediterranean market with tourism-driven payment infrastructure and growing contactless adoption.
Card-mature
MT
Malta
Small island economy with high tourism-driven card transaction volumes and growing digital payment share.
Card-mature
HR
Croatia
Newest Euro Area member (2023). Tourism-heavy economy with rapidly growing card acceptance and digital adoption.
High-growth
Who It's For

Built for teams that need answers, not raw data

Payment Data Monitor is designed to directly support strategic decision-making by eliminating the effort of building a common baseline.

Strategy & Market Entry

Assess payment market maturity, identify whitespace, and benchmark a target country against peers - before committing to an expansion.

Market sizing incl. cash
Competitive benchmarking
Adoption trend analysis

M&A Due Diligence

Validate market assumptions for payment-related transactions. Benchmark an acquisition target's operating market against standardised Euro Area comparables.

Market context reports
Growth trajectory data
Infrastructure benchmarks

Payment Consulting

Eliminate the data-gathering phase at project start. Arrive at client engagements with a ready-to-use, credible, harmonised baseline for any Euro Area market.

Client-ready benchmarks
Country profile exports
Methodology-backed data

Schemes & Networks

Track your instrument's position in the payment mix across markets. Monitor instant payment adoption and competitive share shifts with a consistent longitudinal dataset.

Instrument share tracking
Instant adoption curves
POS / E-Com / P2P split
Get in Touch

Request a custom quote

Whether you're exploring a subscription, need data for a specific project, or want to discuss a custom analysis - we'd like to hear about your use case.

Country Reports Standardised one-pager per market, presentation-ready
Custom Analysis Tailored benchmarks for a specific market, instrument or use case
Subscription Access Annual data updates across all 20 Euro Area member states, new releases as available
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Curious what the data looks like? Access the free Euro Area sample report (2024 Edition). Get sample report