Tokenized payment cards are gaining popularity in Ukraine

Non-cash payments by Ukrainians using payment cards demonstrate stable growth, as confirmed by the statistics of the National Bank of Ukraine for the first nine months of 2025. The data indicate the active use of cards both within the country and abroad.

According to the NBU, during this period, Ukrainians made 7.069 billion transactions with payment cards issued by Ukrainian banks, for the amount of UAH 5,217.6 billion. Of these, 6.746 billion transactions were non-cash for a total amount of UAH 3,414.2 billion. This is 11.7% more in number and 9.9% more in amount compared to the same period in 2024.

The share of non-cash transactions was 95.4% in number and 65.4% in amount. For comparison, in the first nine months of 2024, these figures were 94.5% and 64.8%, respectively. Such dynamics indicate a further rejection of cash by the population in favor of safe and convenient electronic payments.

The NBU notes that 59.6% of active payment cards in Ukraine support contactless payment, which significantly simplifies payments in stores, public transport and online shopping services. Contactless cards have become the standard for most Ukrainian users.

Separately, the regulator emphasizes the growing popularity of tokenized payment cards. Their number has increased by 13% since the beginning of the year and reached 18.6 million pieces. Currently, almost every third active card in Ukraine (31.5%) is tokenized, which provides an additional level of security for users during online and offline payments.

NBU experts note that the trend towards card tokenization and contactless payments will continue to grow. This meets global standards of digital finance and contributes to the development of Ukraine's financial infrastructure, making payments more convenient, faster, and safer.