Electronic payments in North Macedonia continued their strong upward trend in the second quarter of 2025, as citizens increasingly opted for mobile applications and payment cards instead of over-the-counter transactions, the National Bank said on October 2.
In the second quarter, the number of electronic payments made with payment orders rose by 9% compared with the same period in 2024, while their value jumped by 20.9% .
Digital channels are driving much of this growth, with transactions initiated electronically increasing by 18.6% and their value by 28.3%.
Mobile applications have emerged as the dominant method for digital payments, accounting for 71.3% of all transactions made through such channels. The central bank said this underlined the role of mobile phones as the fastest and most convenient payment tool.
The use of payment cards also expanded, with the number of card transactions increasing by 8.4% and their value by 11.4%. Online shopping was the main driver, up 14.8% year on year, but in-store card payments also registered growth of 7.9%.
The National Bank noted that these trends highlight the ongoing digital transformation of the country’s payment system, with electronic and mobile methods steadily replacing traditional cash-based transactions.