How people pay in Austria in 2026
Austria is the euro area's most cash-attached large market, and also a fast-digitizing one. The Oesterreichische Nationalbank's payment study for 2025 found that cash still covered 55% of point-of-sale transactions and 45% of their value, down from 63% and 48% in 2022, and that two thirds of Austrians want cash to keep its current role. In the same year PSA, the bank-owned processor behind the Bankomat-Karte, handled about 1.9 billion debit card transactions, up 10.1%, for more than 11 million cards, with one in three retail card payments made from a phone.
Online, Austrians split between cards, PayPal and invoice. The OeNB puts cards at 35% and wallets or internet payment methods at 30% of online payments, while bank transfers carry 62% of online value. eps-Überweisung, the banks' own pay-by-bank button, processed 35 million payments in 2025, SEPA Instant became mandatory for every bank in October 2025, and in June 2026 Erste and Raiffeisen joined the European Payments Initiative to bring Wero to Austria. The habits are close to Germany, with a stronger cash reflex and a domestic debit brand that has outlived Maestro.
Payment by card in Austria
The Austrian card is the Bankomat-Karte, the debit card every bank issues on the shared infrastructure of PSA Payment Services Austria. For two decades it ran on Maestro; since 1 July 2023 banks have stopped issuing Maestro and replaced it with Debit Mastercard, and a few issuers with Visa Debit, so the same card now works online and abroad. PSA serviced more than 11 million debit cards and 270,000 credit cards at the end of 2025, and counted 1.8 billion purchase transactions, 244 million of them in e-commerce, up 11.1% in a year.
In the shop, the card is tapped. Bank Austria reported 1.9 billion card transactions worth €80 billion in 2024, 95% of them contactless at physical terminals. Credit cards are a secondary product: Visa and Mastercard credit cards come from the banks, card complete, which also issues Diners Club exclusively, and American Express. Because the debit card dominates, acquirers price around the regulated interchange fees on debit, and merchants compare terminal bundles from hobex, Global Payments, Nexi and card complete. Our guide to card networks and local schemes explains how a national debit brand sits on top of an international scheme.
Card schemes in Austria
Bankomat-Karte
Domestic debit card
The Austrian debit card issued by all banks on PSA's shared infrastructure, co-badged Debit Mastercard or Visa Debit since the end of Maestro, used contactless in every shop, at ATMs and increasingly online.
1.9 billion Bankomat-Karte transactions in 2025, 11 million+ cards in issue, PSA
Mastercard
International scheme
The scheme behind most Bankomat-Karten as Debit Mastercard, after Maestro issuance ended on 1 July 2023, and behind the majority of Austrian credit cards.
Visa
International scheme
Issued on Visa Debit by some Austrian banks and on credit cards by the banks and card complete; accepted at all card terminals and online, and common for travel and foreign merchants.
Credit cards
Credit card
Visa and Mastercard credit cards from the banks and card complete, used for travel, subscriptions and larger purchases; Bank Austria and Raiffeisen moved their cardholders to in-house cards during 2025 after leaving card complete.
€80 billion total card payment volume in Austria in 2024, more than 70% of it domestic, Bank Austria via Leadersnet
Diners Club
International scheme
Issued exclusively in Austria by card complete Service Bank, whose majority was sold to EAVISTA in February 2025; accepted mainly in hotels, restaurants and travel.
Payment by cash in Austria
Cash is a cultural institution in Austria. The OeNB's 2025 study still finds 55% of point-of-sale transactions and 45% of their value paid in cash, 81% of people rating the option to pay cash as very important, 88% withdrawing at ATMs and 35% doing so at least weekly. The share is falling, from 63% of transactions in 2022, but it remains above the euro area's 52%. Our case studies on the shift from cash to digital show how slowly such habits move in German-speaking markets.
The infrastructure is shrinking and the state is stepping in. Austria had about 8,600 ATMs in 2024, down from a peak of 9,200 in 2021, and 343 municipalities with no ATM at all. The central bank signed a deal with the Gemeindebund in February 2025 to install up to 120 OeNB-run ATMs, operated by PSA, the first of which opened in July 2025, while banks committed to keep existing machines until the end of 2029. For e-commerce, cash on delivery by Nachnahme survives at the margin, and the Vienna-born paysafecard voucher still lets people pay online with cash.
Cash payment methods in Austria
Cash
Banknotes and coins
Euro cash is the first choice for small amounts, markets, cafés and rural shops, and most Austrians want it to stay that way; the OeNB and the municipalities are expanding ATM coverage to protect access.
55% of point-of-sale transactions paid in cash in 2025, down from 63% in 2022, OeNB
Bankomat withdrawal
ATM cash access
Withdrawals with the Bankomat-Karte at bank and independent ATMs, free at most bank machines; PSA counted about 100 million card withdrawals in 2025, and the OeNB now runs its own ATMs in villages without one.
8,600 ATMs in Austria in 2024, with 343 municipalities lacking one, profil
paysafecard
Cash voucher
Prepaid online voucher founded in Vienna in 2000 and now part of Paysafe, bought with cash at Trafiken, petrol stations and supermarkets and redeemed with a 16-digit code in games, apps and online shops.
Cash on delivery (Nachnahme)
Cash on delivery
Payment to the postal carrier at the door, still offered by some Austrian shops but marginal next to invoice purchase, which gives shoppers the same pay-after-delivery comfort without cash.
Payment by bank transfer in Austria
Austria has had a bank-redirect method since 2004. eps-Überweisung, built by the banks and now run by PSA, sends the shopper from the checkout to their own online banking, where the transfer is authorized and confirmed to the merchant in real time with an execution guarantee. Raiffeisen, Erste Bank und Sparkassen, Bank Austria, BAWAG, the Hypo banks and the Volksbanken all take part, and PSA counted about 35 million eps payments in 2025, alongside 1.3 billion clearing transactions for transfers and direct debits. Sofortüberweisung, the other familiar redirect, was folded into Klarna's Pay Now in July 2024.
Since 9 October 2025 every Austrian bank must send as well as receive SEPA Instant transfers at the price of a normal transfer, with a name and IBAN check before each payment, a change the OeNB compares to a traffic light. The next layer is Wero: on 22 June 2026 Erste Bank Oesterreich and Raiffeisen became shareholders of the European Payments Initiative, with no launch date yet, and PSA is preparing Wero issuing support for Austrian banks. For PSPs, instant payment rails plus eps make Austria a natural pay-by-bank market, as our piece on Europe's instant payments moment argues.
Bank transfer methods in Austria
eps-Überweisung
Pay by bank
The Austrian banks' online transfer button: the shopper picks their bank at checkout, logs into online banking, approves the amount and the merchant gets an irrevocable confirmation at once; also used for e-government fees.
35 million eps online payments processed in 2025, PSA
SEPA Instant Credit Transfer
Instant payment
Mandatory for sending and receiving at all Austrian banks since 9 October 2025, credited within seconds around the clock, with Verification of Payee on every transfer, as Leadersnet summarizes.
SEPA Credit Transfer
Bank transfer
The standard Überweisung used for invoices, rent and B2B, usually initiated in the bank app by scanning the QR code printed on Austrian invoices (Zahlungsanweisung).
62% of online purchase value in 2025 paid by electronic transfer, OeNB
SEPA Direct Debit (Lastschrift)
Direct debit
The usual way to pay utilities, insurance, telecoms and subscriptions, and the rail that Bluecode and several BNPL providers use to collect from the shopper's account.
1.3 billion clearing transactions, transfers and direct debits, processed by PSA in 2025, PSA
Payment by installment and BNPL in Austria
In Austria, buy now, pay later starts with the invoice. Kauf auf Rechnung, paying after delivery within 14 or 30 days, is the German-speaking habit that Klarna built its business on, and Klarna Checkout has offered invoice and instalments to Austrian shops since March 2015. The OeNB's 2025 study counts electronic transfers, the rail behind most invoice payments, at a quarter of online purchases by number and 62% by value, which shows how much of Austrian e-commerce is paid after the parcel arrives.
The specialists are local. Unzer Paylater grew out of payolution, a Vienna-based company founded in 2011 and bought by heidelpay in 2020, and offers invoice, instalment and direct debit payment for Austrian, German, Swiss and Dutch shops. cashpresso, from Vienna fintech Credi2, finances purchases at checkout with a revolving credit line, and Austrian banks sell Ratenkauf on credit cards. Regulation is EU-wide: the revised Consumer Credit Directive brings short-term BNPL under affordability checks from November 2026, as our article on BNPL in Europe explains. In Austria, merchants should expect Rechnung first, installments second.
Installment and BNPL providers in Austria
Klarna
BNPL
Invoice purchase (Rechnung), Pay in 3 and longer financing at checkout and in the Klarna app; Klarna's Pay Now also absorbed Sofortüberweisung in July 2024.
Unzer Paylater
Invoice and instalments
White-label invoice, instalment and direct debit payments for online and in-store merchants in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, built on the former Vienna company payolution and run by Unzer.
cashpresso
Point-of-sale credit
Vienna fintech Credi2's consumer credit line, offered at Austrian online and in-store checkouts as a Ratenkauf option and listed by the Austrian Chamber of Commerce among payment providers for retail.
Payment by digital wallet and X-Pay in Austria
Austria took to the phone late and then quickly. Apple Pay arrived on 24 April 2019 with Erste Bank, Sparkassen and N26, and by the end of 2025 PSA reported that about 30% of Bankomat-Karten were activated on a mobile device and one in three retail card payments came from a phone, 34% in December. The Nexi and Handelsverband Payment Report finds 38% of consumers paying regularly by phone in stores, 73% among 18 to 29 year olds. In Austria, X-Pay therefore mostly means a tokenized Bankomat-Karte in Apple Pay or Google Pay.
The local alternative is Bluecode, founded in Tyrol in 2011, which pays by a one-time barcode or NFC straight from the bank account and is accepted in most Austrian grocery chains, including Spar, Billa and Bipa, with Raiffeisen, Oberbank, BTV and BKS as partner banks and an Alipay+ link for Asian tourists. Online, PayPal is the default wallet, and the OeNB counts wallets and internet payment methods at 30% of online payments. The European Mobile Payments Report puts Bluecode in the context of its EMPSA peers, and the Swiss guide shows what a bank-backed wallet looks like when it wins.
Digital wallets and X-Pay in Austria
Apple Pay
X-Pay wallet
Live in Austria since April 2019 and now supported by all major banks for the Bankomat-Karte and credit cards, Apple Pay is the main way Austrians tap with an iPhone or Apple Watch and a growing express checkout online.
1 in 3 retail card payments made from a mobile device in 2025, PSA
Google Pay
X-Pay wallet
Google's wallet for Android phones, supported by the Austrian banks for debit and credit cards and used for contactless payments in stores and one-tap checkout in apps and Chrome.
73% of 18 to 29 year olds regularly pay by phone in stores, Nexi and Handelsverband Payment Report 2025 via Leadersnet
Bluecode
Account-based mobile payment
Austrian mobile payment scheme that debits the bank account directly through a one-time code or NFC, integrated into bank apps such as Raiffeisen and into loyalty apps such as jö, and accepted across Spar, Billa and most Austrian grocery chains.
PayPal
Digital wallet
The most familiar online wallet in Austria, used for marketplace purchases, cross-border shopping and peer-to-peer payments, and a standard button in Austrian web shops next to cards, eps and Klarna.
30% of online payments made with wallets or internet payment methods in 2025, OeNB
Payments in Austria: FAQ
What is the most used payment method in Austria?
Cash, by number of transactions, but only just. The OeNB's 2025 payment study puts cash at 55% of point-of-sale transactions and 45% of their value, down from 63% in 2022. The Bankomat-Karte debit card takes most of the rest, with 1.9 billion transactions in 2025.
Does Apple Pay work in Austria?
Yes. Apple Pay launched in Austria on 24 April 2019 with Erste Bank, Sparkassen and N26, and all major banks now support it for the Bankomat-Karte. PSA says about 30% of Austrian debit cards were activated on a mobile device by the end of 2025 and one in three retail card payments came from a phone.
What is eps-Überweisung?
eps is the Austrian banks' pay-by-bank method for online shops. The buyer selects their bank at checkout, logs into online banking and approves the transfer, and the merchant receives an immediate, irrevocable confirmation. PSA processed about 35 million eps payments in 2025.
Is Maestro still used in Austria?
No. Austrian banks stopped issuing Maestro cards on 1 July 2023 and replaced the Bankomat-Karte with Debit Mastercard, or Visa Debit at some issuers. Old Maestro cards worked until their expiry date, so by 2026 almost every Austrian debit card is a Debit Mastercard or Visa Debit that also works online.
Is Wero available in Austria?
Not yet. On 22 June 2026 Erste Bank Oesterreich and Raiffeisen joined the European Payments Initiative as shareholders, and Erste said it would announce a launch once the wallet is ready for the Austrian market. PSA is already preparing the issuing support Austrian banks will need.
Accept local payments in Austria with NORBr
Austrian acceptance runs through a few bank-linked players. hobex, the Salzburg acquirer owned by the Raiffeisen banks, processed €13 billion for more than 44,000 customers in its last fiscal year and bought the assets of Graz gateway Qenta in 2025. Global Payments, Erste Bank's terminal partner, Nexi Austria and card complete serve the rest of the market, with PSA behind every Bankomat-Karte, ATM and eps transaction.
A PSP, PayFac, ISO or ISV entering Austria should look for a partner that acquires Debit Mastercard and Visa Debit at domestic rates, offers eps and Klarna invoice online, supports Apple Pay, Google Pay and Bluecode in store, and is ready for Wero and SEPA Instant settlement. Hospitality and tourism volumes make multi-currency and Alipay+ acceptance useful.
Merchants selling in Austria expect Bankomat-Karte debit cards, eps-Überweisung, SEPA Instant, Bluecode, Klarna invoice and PayPal. With NORBr, you are not limited to a fixed catalog: you can connect any acquirer, PSP or local provider that offers these methods. Some may already be in our connector catalog. For the others, Mapper™, our low-code integration tool, and Connector Studio get a new partner live in days rather than quarters. Each partner then joins your global payment network, and Smart Checkout shows the right methods to each shopper. Ready to expand into new markets? Explore the other #PayWorldTour guides.
Local payment providers in Austria
hobex
Acquirer
Salzburg acquirer and terminal provider founded in 1991, majority-owned by the Raiffeisen banks, serving retail, hospitality and tourism merchants in Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland with terminals and e-commerce acceptance.
€13 billion payment volume in the last fiscal year, up 15%, with 44,000+ customers, Raiffeisenverband Salzburg
Covers: Bankomat-Karte, Mastercard, Visa, Diners Club, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Bluecode, eps-Überweisung, Klarna
Global Payments Austria
Acquirer
Vienna office of Global Payments s.r.o., the joint venture of Erste Group, CaixaBank and Global Payments that is Erste Bank und Sparkassen's merchant partner and took over Payone's Austrian terminal customers in 2021.
Covers: Bankomat-Karte, Mastercard, Visa, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Bluecode, eps-Überweisung
Nexi Austria
Acquirer
The Austrian arm of Nexi Group, formerly Concardis Austria, providing terminals, SoftPOS and e-commerce acquiring; it co-publishes the annual Payment Report with the Handelsverband, which found 90% of Austrians shopping online in 2025.
Covers: Bankomat-Karte, Mastercard, Visa, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Klarna, eps-Überweisung
card complete
Issuer and acquirer
Vienna card bank issuing Visa, Mastercard and Diners Club cards and acquiring POS and e-commerce payments; 75.1% was sold by Bank Austria and Raiffeisen to EAVISTA in February 2025, a vehicle linked to DNA Payments.
Covers: Mastercard, Visa, Diners Club, American Express, JCB, UnionPay, Apple Pay, Google Pay
Unzer
PSP and BNPL provider
DACH payment company whose Paylater unit, built on the Vienna-founded payolution, gives Austrian merchants invoice, instalment and direct debit payments alongside card, eps and wallet acceptance through one gateway.
Covers: Mastercard, Visa, Unzer Paylater, eps-Überweisung, SEPA Direct Debit, Klarna, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay
PSA Payment Services Austria
Payment processor
The bank-owned Vienna processor behind the Bankomat-Karte, ATM network, eps-Überweisung and the ich.app identity, now rebuilding its platform with Worldline; not a merchant acquirer, but the partner every Austrian issuer and acquirer connects to.
3.4 billion card, account and identity transactions processed in 2025, PSA
Covers: Bankomat-Karte, eps-Überweisung, SEPA Instant, SEPA Direct Debit
