Mobile Payments Driving Financial Digitization

Mastercard has published the results of its research on credit card usage and attitudes, which has been tracking the payment habits of Hungary’s urban population for 17 years. According to the study’s findings, the use of electronic payment solutions in Hungary increased across all segments examined in 2025. The most significant progress occurred in the area of mobile payments.

Based on the latest results of the research series, the increase in the proportion of mobile payment users was one of the most significant changes in Hungary in 2025: the figure rose from 41% to 48% in one year, which is more than double the 22% recorded six years ago. Growth was faster among Android users (from 36% to 43% in one year), while the proportion of mobile payers is higher (69%) among iPhone users.

Card penetration - that is, the proportion of people who own at least one card – is nearly 100%. The proportion of people with multiple cards has increased significantly, by one-third (32%). More and more people are choosing digital solutions for card usage, meaning the “digital first” approach is gaining strength: less than half of the target group (44%) insists on receiving their new card in physical form first - this proportion was still 57% in 2021 – and although few (10%) would completely give up physical cards, their proportion has doubled over the past four years.

In 2025, one in five Hungarian adults used a fintech card (Revolut, Wise, N26, Curve), and the trend is no longer limited to the younger generation. The amount held in fintech accounts also increased, and more and more people consider these cards their primary card (the proportion rose from 14% to 19% between 2024 and 2025), which they use for numerous transactions, including domestic and international purchases and online payments.

In 2025, digital solutions clearly dominated bill payment: 75% of respondents paid their bills electronically, with card payments being the most popular method: this figure rose to 66% by 2025 (up from 62% in 2024). 72% of cardholder respondents pay with a card at POS terminals daily or several times a week, averaging 14 transactions per person per month. The proportion of ATM users is also high, having stabilized at 94%.

Contactless digital payment solutions are becoming increasingly popular in areas related to transportation and employee benefits as well. In public transportation, awareness of the Pay&GO card-based ticketing system in Budapest has reached 59%; among those who have already tried it, speed and convenience proved to be the main attractions, indicating the potential for even wider adoption in the future.

Less than one-third (27%) of the holders of SZÉP card, the most popular fringe benefit in Hungary, have digitized their cards so far, but more than four in ten mobile wallet users are open to doing so.