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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

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.

payment intermediation
Frequency: Monthly - April 2026
payment intermediation
Frequency: Monthly - May 2026
Statistics
TitleFrequencyNewestPeriodNextCategoryGagnabanki
Government credit fundsMonthlyApril 28March 2026May 28Monetary and financial statistics
Other financial corporationsMonthlyApril 28March 2026May 28Monetary and financial statistics
Mutual funds, investment funds and institutional investment fundsMonthlyApril 28March 2026May 28Monetary and financial statistics
Portfolio investmentMonthlyApril 28Mars 2026May 29Balance of payments
Monetary statisticsMonthlyApril 24March 2026May 22Monetary and financial statistics
Securities offeringsMonthlyApril 17March 2026May 18Markets
Payment intermediationMonthlyApril 17March 2026May 19Markets
Insurance companiesMonthlyApril 17February 2026May 19Monetary and financial statistics
International reservesMonthlyApril 14March 2026May 12Balance of payments
Pension fundsMonthlyApril 10February 2026May 7Monetary and financial statistics
Balance sheet of the Central BankMonthlyApril 10March 2026May 8Monetary and financial statistics
Real exchange rateMonthlyApril 10March 2026May 8Markets
Interbank Market for Foreign ExchangeMonthlyApril 8March 2026May 6Markets
Interbank Market for Icelandic KronurMonthlyApril 8March 2026May 6Markets
Market securitiesMonthlyMarch 31February 2026April 30Markets
Direct investmentAnnualMarch 202024 updateSeptember 21Balance of payments
Financial accounts of financial corporationsQuarterlyMarch 6Q4/2025June 8Monetary and financial statistics
External debtQuarterlyMarch 5Q4 2025June 4Balance of payments
Balance of paymentsQuarterlyMarch 5Q4 2025June 4Balance of payments
International investment positionQuarterlyMarch 5Q4 2025June 4Balance of payments