Mobile wallets account for almost two thirds of contactless payments

Almost 840m mobile wallet and contactless card payments made on Irish cards in first six months of 2026 

There were 153 contactless payments per person in Ireland on Irish cards in the first half of 2026, up from 143 in H1 2025

Over 1.2bn payments worth €50bn were made on Irish cards — including both physical and digital — in the first six months of the year, according to the Banking and Payments Federation. 

Almost 840m mobile wallet and contactless card payments were made during the period, valued at almost €16bn. The number and value of contactless payments increased by 7.3% and 12.9%, respectively, between H1 2025 and H1 2026.

Three in four card payments - almost 930m transactions - were made at the point of sale in shops, restaurants, and other retail outlets, up 5.4% year on year. 

Mobile wallets accounted for almost two thirds of contactless payments (64.2%). The average mobile wallet payment was €20.96, compared to €15.36 for contactless card payments, and €78.49 for online card purchases. 

There were 305m online domestic card payment transactions valued at nearly €24bn in the first half of 2026, up 12.9% on the equivalent period a year previous.

There were 153 contactless payments per person in Ireland on Irish cards in the first half of 2026, up from 143 in H1 2025. "Mobile wallets have clearly overtaken physical cards in popularity, with some 64.2% of contactless payments made using mobile wallets, up from 58.2% in H1 2025," said BPFI head of payments Gillian Byrne. "Contactless payments dominate everyday, lower-value spending in shops and other outlets."

Ms Byrne said the move towards contactless payments is likely to be accelerated by the rollout of contactless payment terminals on public transport in the next two years. “The National Transport Authority (NTA) plans to roll out contactless payments across the public transport network on a phased basis, starting with the Greater Dublin Area from 2028. This will allow millions of travellers to pay for their journeys using contactless cards and mobile wallets, making payment easier, quicker and simpler. Contactless payments have already been introduced on TFI Local Link services and the system is expected to be deployed across all 15 offices by the end of 2026.”

BPFI cited figures from the National Transport Authority showing almost 364m passenger journeys on bus, rail and tram in 2025, with some 248m of those journeys paid for using Leap cards, 19.3% higher than in 2024. "Payment cards already play an important role in public transport through Leap card top-ups, with €294m added to Leap cards in 2025, including almost €210m via credit or debit cards on the Leap Top-up app, a 30% increase on 2024. The rollout of contactless payments on the public transport system represents a huge opportunity to increase card usage in Ireland," said Ms Byrne. 

BPFI estimates contactless rollout across Irish public transport this will result in at least 25m additional contactless payments in the first year.

Dublin had the highest number of contactless payments per capita in Ireland at 419 and mobile wallet payments per capita at  279 in the year ending June 2026. By contrast, Roscommon had the lowest contactless and mobile usage, at 145 contactless and 73 mobile wallet payments per capita.

Cork had 306 contactless payments per capita at 419 and 194 mobile wallet payments per capita; Limerick 324 contactless per capita, 203 mobile wallets per capita; Kerry 242 contactless per capita, 143 mobile wallets per capita; Waterford 307 contactless per capita, 107 mobile wallets per capita; Clare 297 contactless per capita, 167 mobile wallets per capita; Tipperary 220 contactless per capita, 133 mobile wallets per capita; Galway 298 contactless per capita, 183 mobile wallets per capita.