Czech shoppers increasingly favor card payments over cash, study shows

Jana Lvová, Mastercard’s chief executive for the Czech Republic and Slovakia, said a new poll indicates that most Czech consumers now opt for card payments when they can, reflecting a significant change since 2018. The proportion of shoppers who actively prefer cash has decreased, and a sizable group would use cards if more merchants accepted them. The ecosystem is expanding, with the number of merchant terminals exceeding 350,000 by the end of the second quarter of 2026, according to the Association for Bank Cards.

Government-backed projects such as "Czech Republic pays with card," launched in 2020 with Mastercard and other partners, have added tens of thousands of terminals and payment gateways. Digital payments are also gaining ground for small purchases, and mobile phones are becoming a common method, especially among younger adults.