In the first half of 2016, 174 million non-cash payments totalling 177 billion euro were made in Latvia, while 187 million non-cash payments amounting to 189 billion euro have been executed in the second half of 2016.
In comparison with the second half of 2015, the number of non-cash payments recorded an increase of 3.5% primarily on account of card payments, which were the most frequently used non-cash settlement. The volume of card payments in the first half of 2016 was 117.1 million, but their value stood at 2.2 billion euro. In comparison with the second half of 2015, the volume of card payments augmented by 4.3%, but their value remained unchanged.
At the end of the first half of 2016, 2.4 million payment cards were issued in Latvia, and most of them were debit cards. 33.9 thousand points of sale (POSs) and 1 033 ATMs were available for inhabitants.
A comprehensive report on the operation of interbank payment systems, development of payment instruments and other areas vital for non-cash settlement is available on Latvijas Banka's website: Latvia's Payment Statistics.
Latvijas Banka organises and maintains the payment infrastructure in Latvia, including two fully automated payment systems helping to ensure interbank settlements in euro. TARGET2-Latvija is an interbank euro payment system falling within the Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross Settlement Express Transfer System TARGET2. The Electronic Clearing System of Latvijas Banka (EKS) is a net settlement system used for the processing of retail payments.
To continue development of the existing payment infrastructure, it has been planned to introduce the instant payment service in the EKS in 2017; it will be a significant stimulus for development of innovative payment instruments in Latvia.