By Tuba Sahin
ANKARA (AA) – The total value of online card payments in Turkey soared 48% this September compared to the same period last year, according to the country's Interbank Card Center (BKM) on Wednesday.
The figure reached to 25 billion Turkish liras (around $3.3 billion) last month, the BKM said, as the online shopping increased in recent months due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Online card payments rose the most in markets-food and consumer electronics sectors with 196% and 146%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
Total payments via debit and credit cards also increased 25% year-on-year to 106.4 billion liras ($14 billion) in September.
Thus, the share of online payments in overall card payments rose to 23%, up from 18% in September 2019.
The number of credit cards used in the country stood at 73.9 million as of end-September while 181.1 million debit cards were in use.