Payment cards issued, either credit or debit card, in France 2000-2022
Between 2010 and 2022, the number of payments cards issued in France went through a slight decrease before going up again to reach about 111,9 million cards in 2022. The value of payments made using a payment card with a credit function in France als increased around the same year.
Card payments in France
As of 2016, the most used payment instrument in France was still the use of banking cards: more than half of all transactions made that year were carried out through card payment. Nevertheless, innovative means of payments are appearing, such as the contactless payment method with a banking card. Between 2014 and 2018, the number of contactless payments made with a French banking card (CB**) increased by about 90 percent, reaching 2,142 transactions in 2018.
Digital payments methods are becoming more popular
According to the 2020 Statista Global Consumer Survey, about the same share of French people declared having used online payment services - like PayPal and Amazon Payments - or credit cards to pay online during the past year. The online payment system PayPal was the most well-known app for online money transfers among the French in 2018: almost nine in ten had already heard of it, while about a third knew the French service Paylib.
