Meginmál

Data  on payment cards turnover and number of transactions, both domestically and abroad is published monthly in accordance with a predetermined schedule and is posted at 09:00 hrs. on the publication date.

The data is available at a monthly frequency from January 1998. From January 2013 onward the turnover of credit cards is compiled for the calendar month but before that the data was based on due for payment for the credit card holders.

The latest data is preliminary.

Inquiries can be sent to support@sedlabanki.is

Time series for pay­ment in­ter­me­di­ation in April 2025

Payment intermediation

Amounts are in millions (M.kr.)

Data for payment intermediation are col­lec­ted with the aim of mon­it­or­ing the cheques and pay­ment cards turnover and num­ber of trans­ac­tions and pub­lish­ing ag­greg­ate data from them. In ad­di­tion, the Cent­ral Bank uses the data in its op­er­a­tions.

Foundation in law

The foundation in law for data collection is in Article 32 of the Act of the Central Bank of Iceland, no. 92/2019. In accordance with Article 41 of the Act, the Central bank is allowed to exchange information with public entities concerning matters falling under the scope of this Act if the exchange of information is consistent with the legally mandated role of the Central Bank or the recipient.

Payment intermediation

BEÐIÐ EFTIR ENSKRI ÞÝÐINGU

Fyrirtæki í greiðslumiðlun auðvelda greiðslur frá korthöfum til söluaðila með greiðslumiðlunartækni, þ.m.t. kort og posar. Gögn um greiðslumiðlun endurspegla veltu og færslufjölda innlendra korta innanlands, auk veltu og færslufjölda erlendra korta innanlands.

Greiðslumiðlunarmarkaði má í grófum dráttum skipta í tvennt:

  • Kortaútgefendur: Gefa út kort til einstaklinga og fyrirtækja til að framkvæma greiðslur fyrir vörur og þjónustu. Auk þess er að hægt að taka út reiðufé með kortafærslum.  Athugið að hér er um að ræða innlendar fjármálastofnanir en ekki alþjóðleg kortakerfi á borð við Mastercard eða VISA.
  • Færsluhirðar: Útvega söluaðilum posa og annars háttar tæknilausnir til að taka á móti og vinna úr greiðslum frá korthöfum.

Auk þess má nefna að notkun á annars háttar greiðslumiðlunartækni hefur færst í aukana, t.a.m. er hægt að greiða fyrir vörur og þjónustu með beinum millifærslum. Eins má nefna reikning-í-reikning greiðslur og kortalausa færsluhirðingu á borð við PayPal.  Notkun reiðufés tíðkast enn. Gagnasöfnun Seðlabankans leitast við að ná utan um umfang ólíkra greiðsluleiða.

Revision of data

The most re­cent fig­ures are al­ways pre­lim­in­ary and sub­ject to re­vi­sion.

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.

Resident / Non-resident

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.

Upcoming events

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payment intermediation
Frequency: Monthly - April 2025
payment intermediation
Frequency: Monthly - May 2025
Statistics
TitleFrequencyNewestPeriodNextCategoryGagnabanki
Payment intermediationMonthlyMay 16April 2025June 16Markets
International reservesMonthlyMay 16Apríl 2025June 18Balance of payments
Real exchange rateMonthlyMay 8April 2025June 6Markets
Balance sheet of the Central BankMonthlyMay 8April 2025June 6Monetary and financial statistics
Interbank Market for Foreign ExchangeMonthlyMay 8April 2025June 6Markets
Interbank Market for Icelandic KronurMonthlyMay 8April 2025June 6Markets
Pension fundsMonthlyMay 7March 2025June 6Monetary and financial statistics
Market securitiesMonthlyApril 30March 2025May 30Markets
Other financial corporationsMonthlyApril 29March 2025May 27Monetary and financial statistics
Mutual funds, investment funds and institutional investment fundsMonthlyApril 29March 2025May 27Monetary and financial statistics
Government credit fundsMonthlyApril 29March 2025May 27Monetary and financial statistics
Portfolio investmentMonthlyApril 29Mars 2025May 30Balance of payments
Securities offeringsMonthlyApril 25March 2025May 21Markets
Monetary statisticsMonthlyApril 25March 2025May 23Monetary and financial statistics
Insurance companiesMonthlyApril 23February 2025May 19Monetary and financial statistics
Direct investmentAnnualMarch 202023 updateSeptember 19Balance of payments
Balance of paymentsQuarterlyMarch 6Q4 2024June 5Balance of payments
External debtQuarterlyMarch 6Q4 2024June 5Balance of payments
International investment positionQuarterlyMarch 6Q4 2024June 5Balance of payments
Financial accounts of financial corporationsQuarterlyMarch 6Q4/2024June 6Monetary and financial statistics