Payment intermediation

Payment intermediation companies facilitate payments from cardholders to merchants using payment intermediation technology, including cards and POS (point of sale) devices. Data on payment intermediation reflect the turnover and number of transactions of domestic cards within Iceland, as well as the turnover and number of transactions of foreign cards in Iceland.

Card issuers
Issue cards to individuals and businesses to make payments for goods and services. In addition, it is possible to withdraw cash via card transactions. Please note that these are domestic financial institutions and not international card systems such as Mastercard or VISA.

Merchant acquirers
Provide sellers with point of sale (POS) devices and other technological solutions to receive and process payments from cardholders.

Debit card
An electronic card that transfers money directly from the cardholder's bank account.

Credit card
An electronic card where payments accrue with acquiring services to be collected monthly from the cardholder.

Active credit cards
Cards that have been used in the relevant month.

Issued payment cards
All issued, valid cards, regardless of whether they have been used.

A resident is any individual and legal entity permanently residing in Iceland, irrespective of nationality. Students and embassy employees are exempt from the residency requirement. Therefore, Icelandic students and their families who reside abroad are considered residents, and foreign embassy employees are considered non-residents. Non-residents shall mean all parties except residents.