BKM publishes card usage data in 3-month periods. BKM has released its data for the first 6 months of 2020. According to the data announced by BKM, card payments reached TL 500 billion in the first half of the year, and the electronics and grocery sectors saw the largest increase in card payments. While online payments became an indispensable part of our lives, the number of contactless payments in the first 6 months of the year tripled compared with the same period last year.
At the end of May, the number of cards in use in Turkey stood out at 243 million, while the number of merchants accepting online card payments rose to 1.5 times last year's level.
According to data shared by the Interbank Card Center (BKM), records were broken in the number of card payment transactions and in contactless payments ahead of the Ramadan Holiday.
With the pandemic, online payments became an indispensable part of our lives in May and were preferred more in the electronics and clothing sectors. The number of merchants accepting online card payments rose to 1.5 times last year's level.
According to BKM data, at the end of May there are a total of 242.7 million cards in Turkey, comprising 71.4 million credit cards and 171.3 million debit cards. Compared with May 2019, the number of credit cards rose 5 percent year over year and the number of debit cards rose 11 percent year over year.
| Number of Cards (Million) | May 2019 | May 2020 | Change |
| Debit Card | 154.6 | 171.3 | 11% |
| Credit Card | 67.8 | 71.4 | 5% |
| Total | 222.4 | 242.7 | 9% |
According to BKM data, card payments totaling TL 76.2 billion were made in May. Of this amount, TL 63.3 billion came from payments made with credit cards and TL 12.9 billion from payments made with debit cards. The amount paid with credit cards fell 13 percent compared with the same month of the previous year, while the amount paid with debit cards rose 19 percent year over year.
| Card Payment Amount (TL Billion) | May 2019 | May 2020 | Change |
| Debit Card | 10.9 | 12.9 | 19% |
| Credit Card | 73.2 | 63.3 | -13% |
| Total | 84.1 | 76.2 | -9% |
According to BKM data, on Friday, May 22, which fell just before the Ramadan Holiday, a new record was set in the number of card payments with 26.6 million transactions. The hour with the most card payments on Friday was 17:00-18:00, and the most payments were made at 16:59.
Another record on Friday, May 22 was set in contactless payments. On May 22, 7 million contactless payments were made, the highest number of contactless payments in a single day to date. On that date, 30 percent of in-store payments were made contactless.
Online card payments, which have been rising in recent years, became even more widespread during the pandemic and have become one of our most important payment instruments.
According to BKM data, in May the online card payment amount rose 14 percent compared with the same period last year and reached TL 19 billion. While online card payments reached a record level in May, their share of total card payments also broke a record by exceeding 25 percent.
| Online Card Payment Amount (TL Billion) | May 2019 | May 2020 | Change |
| Online Card Payment Amount | 16.8 | 19.1 | 14% |
| Share of Total Card Payments | 18.9% | 25.2% |
The number of cardholders paying online also continued to grow. In May, online payments were made with 20 million different cards, and 2 million cards were used for online payments for the first time. In March and April, 5 million cards had also been used for online card payments for the first time. With these newly announced figures, a total of 7 million cards were used for online shopping during the pandemic period.
The number of businesses where online shopping is possible is growing every day, and the pandemic accelerated the digital transformation of businesses. According to BKM data, many new businesses began offering services online. In May, the number of merchants receiving online card payments rose 43 percent compared with last year and exceeded 54 thousand.
| Number of Merchants Receiving Online Card Payments | May 2019 | May 2020 | Change |
| Number of Merchants (Thousand) | 38.1 | 54.5 | 43% |
When the share of online payments in total card payments in May is examined by sector, the sectors where the shift to online shopping was most intense stand out as “electronics” and “clothing”.
The online card payment share, which was 43 percent in the “electronics” sector in the same period last year, rose to 70 percent in May 2020. This ratio rose from 14 percent to 42 percent in clothing and accessories, and from 14 percent to 30 percent in education/stationery. The metric rose from 11 percent to 24 percent in furniture and decoration, and from 4 percent to 12 percent in the “food” sector.
| Share of Online Payments in Card Payments by Sector (By Payment Amount) | May 2019 | May 2020 |
| Electronics | 43% | 70% |
| Clothing and Accessories | 14% | 42% |
| Education/Stationery | 14% | 30% |
| Furniture and Decoration | 11% | 24% |
| Food | 4% | 12% |
As payment habits changed rapidly with the pandemic, these 5 sectors were among those where online payments were most preferred compared with last year.
