Cash Study 2026: Digital Payments in Austria Are Catching Up, Cash Payments Remain Dominant

Key Findings of the Study

According to Global Payments, the study illustrates a gradual shift in payment behavior without cash being displaced. For the domestic banking sector, the survey is a benchmark for measuring how quickly innovations in payments are being adopted.

For Erste Bank and Sparkasse, the joint study with Global Payments is another building block in monitoring the domestic market. The data feeds into internal analyses and serves as a basis for advisory discussions with retail partners and municipalities. The OeNB also uses comparable surveys to assess cash circulation and the spread of new payment methods in Austria.

Angela Knötzl, Country Manager Austria at Global Payments, sees the results as confirmation that consumers increasingly expect freedom of choice when paying. This expectation is directed equally at retailers, banks, and card issuers.

Voices from Business and Research

Ertan Piskin, payments expert, places the findings in a European context. According to him, Austria's figures for the cash share remain above the average of several Western European comparison markets, while contactless card payments in Austria show catch-up effects.

The study's authors point out that the increase in digital payments is attributable not least to the spread of smartphones and the acceptance of contactless terminals. At the same time, demand for cash reserves — for weekly markets, small businesses, or emergencies — remains consistently high.

Significance for Retail and Banks

For retailers, the development means investing in modern checkout systems and card acceptance points without fully replacing the cash logistics. Banks, in turn, see themselves confirmed in continuing to operate their cash infrastructure alongside digital offerings.

Observers expect that the coming years will be shaped above all by greater differentiation in the payment offering: from the traditional coin and banknote business, to card payments, to mobile solutions. The 2026 Cash Study provides a new data foundation for this.