Digital payments: why instant transfers have doubled

Electronic means of payment continue strengthen, amid the acceleration of digitization of digital transactions and increasing acceptance by users and businesses, due to the convenience and security it represents compared to cash.

The trend remained bullish at the end of last year. That’s how it is during 2022 the amount of direct transfers doubled compared to the previous year, a 74 percent increase was recorded in payment transactions with cashiers, and a 43 percent increase in cleared electronic checks (e-cheq).

This was indicated today by the Central Bank in its Report on Banks for December, in which among the instruments that explain the good results of the sector last year, the following was specifically stated: instant transfers, which recorded a real growth of 18.2% compared to 2021.

The central office pointed out that during the last year the sum of the main electronic means of payment was registered a an increase of 6 percentage points gross domestic product (GDP) compared to 2021 and by almost 24 percentage points compared to the record year 2020.

The monetary authority also estimated that during the last quarter of 2022 direct transfers represented 48.5% of GDP, which is 7 percentage points more compared to the same period of the previous year.

Meanwhile, e-checks have also seen significant growth. The report states that fees through this system were registered during the last year a increased by 22.9% in real terms. and during the last quarter of 2022 it represented 14.6% of GDP, which meant a year-on-year increase of 2.9 percentage points.