Survey: Cash loses ground as Czechs use cards even for CZK 20 purchases

Payment cards have become the preferred way to shop in Czechia, with consumers increasingly using digital payments for purchases costing as little as CZK 20, a new survey suggests.

A record 61 percent of Czechs now prefer paying digitally, up from 46 percent in 2018, according to a Mastercard survey of 1,212 respondents. Four out of five said they would use a card for every purchase if the option were available everywhere.

The share of consumers who actively choose cash even when card payment is possible has meanwhile fallen from 33 percent in 2018 to 21 percent.

“Czech consumers want to have a choice, and when they have one in payment, most choose a card,” Mastercard’s general manager for Czechia and Slovakia, Jana Lvová, said.

Of those surveyed, 61 percent already favor cards, while a further 18 percent would prefer to pay digitally but encounter businesses where that is not possible. Together, they represent a potential card-payment share of 79 percent.

The number of payment terminals available across Czechia continues to grow. More than 351,000 were operating at the end of the second quarter of 2026, according to the Czech Banking Card Association.

Part of that expansion has come through the Česko platí kartou, or Czechia Pays by Card, initiative launched by the Industry and Trade Ministry, Mastercard and industry partners in 2020.

The program allows participating businesses to test payment terminals free of charge. It has so far helped introduce more than 57,000 terminals and 13,000 online payment gateways.

Consumers are also becoming less reluctant to use cards for small transactions. The average card purchase has fallen to CZK 94, down from CZK 111 last year.

Nearly six in 10 respondents said they would pay digitally for a purchase worth CZK 20 or less when given the option.

The findings suggest the old habit of reserving cards for larger purchases is continuing to disappear, even if visitors may still encounter cash-only pubs, market stalls or small service providers.

Mobile payments are also moving beyond their previous role as an alternative to carrying a plastic card.

A separate survey by employee-benefits company Up Benefity found that 60 percent of Czechs now use virtual cards for payments. Mobile transactions have reportedly overtaken payments made with physical contactless cards in popularity.

The trend is particularly pronounced among younger consumers. Three-quarters of economically active people between 18 and 26 use virtual payment cards, according to the survey.

“Mobile phones are becoming the least dispensable item for everyday shopping,” Up Benefity marketing director Věra Smolíková said, predicting further growth in the coming years.

Lvová said Czechia had reached a point where digital payment was no longer merely an alternative to cash but a routine part of everyday life.

Cash has not disappeared, however, and remains actively preferred by roughly one-fifth of consumers. The findings instead point toward a growing expectation that businesses will offer both options—with most customers reaching for a card or phone when they do.