The share of non-cash payments in Latvia reaches a historical high

The most recent (autumn 2026) "Payment radar" published by Latvijas Banka suggests that the ratio of non-cash to cash payments in Latvia was 81% to 19% in August 2026. The share of non-cash payments has reached a historical high. In February 2026, the share of non-cash payments reached 79%, compared to 78% in February 2025. 

The latest information on the money usage habits of Latvia's population is outlined in the "Payment radar" based on the results of a public survey conducted by the market and social research agency SIA Latvijas Fakti. The "Payment radar" is published semi-annually and is available on Latvijas Banka's website. The development of the ratio of non-cash to cash payments and their interaction (as at August 2026) is the central measurement of the overview, supplemented by more detailed numerical information and expert commentaries. 

Ratio of non-cash to cash payments 

The ratio of non-cash to cash payments was first measured in February 2017, with non-cash payments accounting for 58% and cash payments for 42%. Since then, the share of non-cash payments has gradually increased and, in recent years, has stabilised at close to 80%. That threshold has now been crossed. 

In August 2026, the average number of payments per capita in a week was 16.1 (compared to 15.1 and 17.9 in February 2026 and August 2025 respectively), including 13 non-cash payments and 3.1 cash payments. Following a deeper analysis of these data, SIA Latvijas Fakti concludes that, on average, one adult in Latvia makes 8.2 card payments, 4.8 online payments, and 3.1 cash payments per week. 

Modern payment technologies 

Data from the "Payment radar" suggest that people are increasingly choosing to make payments by smartphone – as many as 34% of Latvia's population already use this option, marking another record high. Smartphone payments are particularly popular among younger people, with most respondents aged 34 or younger using them. 

The use of instant payments has remained stable at the 40% mark (41% in August 2026, compared to 42% in February 2026). Among those who use instant payments, more than one in five use the option of making a payment by providing only the payee's phone number (21% in August 2026, compared to 19% in February 2026). 

The survey shows no impact of the August 2026 storm, as most respondents completed the survey before the storm occurred. However, concerns about access to cash have increased. In August 2026, 75% of respondents were satisfied with access to cash from their bank accounts (79% in February 2026), while 14% were dissatisfied (11% in February 2026). 

The lessons from the August storm will also be taken into account regarding cash 

Ilze Posuma, Member of the Council of Latvijas Banka, analyses the lessons from the August storm in the commentary section of the "Payment radar". 

During the August storm, electricity and communications were disrupted simultaneously, also affecting the operations of retailers and shopping centres. As a result, critical financial services infrastructure was able to provide support and perform its functions only to a limited extent. The most extensive damage occurred early in the night, and following disruptions to the electricity network, communications towers continued operating for only a few hours using autonomous power supply solutions. By morning, their power sources had been exhausted, leaving some areas without either electricity or communications.

"This is the key lesson from the crisis at the national level: without electricity and communications, other solutions cannot function either. If retailers cannot operate, critical financial services are also unavailable. How can this be addressed? This requires a national-level solution, with priority potentially given to ensuring the operation of critical communications towers and retailers rather than critical ATMs," emphasises Ilze Posuma. 

The information collected by Latvijas Banka suggests that several hundred offline payments were made in shops during the crisis. Most critical ATMs (77 out of 94) remained operational during the crisis, although they were mainly located in areas where no power outages occurred or where outages were resolved quickly. Only a few critical ATMs experienced an outage lasting longer than permitted under the applicable regulations. The main problems were identified with ATMs located in shopping centres, which could not be opened due to power outages and were therefore inaccessible to the public. Banks are assessing each such situation individually. At the same time, it is clear that action is needed to take the lessons from this storm into account.

Latvijas Banka has already drawn the attention of the responsible authorities to issues concerning ATM availability and proposed additional solutions. One such solution could involve essential services centres, where people could buy essential goods in one place, including by making offline card payments, as well as access cash. These centres could, for example, be set up at retail outlets or petrol stations.

They would operate alongside the resilience hubs proposed by the head of the Crisis Management Centre, where people would have access to information, first aid, communications, and other essential services. These hubs would be particularly important in situations where, for whatever reason, the nearest crisis shop would be inaccessible or people would be unable to reach it.

"The lessons learned from the storm will help strengthen the country's overall resilience to crises in the coming months. At the same time, Latvijas Banka encourages everyone to continue to act sensibly and plan ahead, including by keeping some money in cash or building up savings specifically for crisis situations. Such an emergency cash reserve should be held in small-denomination banknotes and should be sufficient to cover a family's needs for one week," recommends the Member of the Council of Latvijas Banka. 

It is also advisable to identify the ATMs closest to one's home, including critical ATMs, in advance on the website of Latvijas Banka (the map is available here: https://www.bank.lv/en/services/map-of-atms-in-latvia). Information on offline payments, in turn, is available here: https://www.bank.lv/en/news-and-events/news-and-articles/news/17790-offline-card-purchases-have-been-introduced-by-10-retailers. It is important to bear in mind that this solution can only be used by physically inserting the payment card into a card terminal and entering the card's PIN. 

For more information on critical financial services, see the website of Latvijas Banka: https://www.bank.lv/en/operational-areas/customer-protection/critical-financial-services.

The contours of the digital euro are becoming increasingly clear 

Zita Zariņa, Member of the Council of Latvijas Banka, provides an update on the digital euro project in the "Payment radar". It has regained momentum, with European legislators finally reaching agreement on a number of widely debated aspects. The next step is the reconciliation of positions in the so-called trilogue procedure – in July, negotiations officially began between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union (EU), and the European Commission with a view to completing the legislative process for a common regulatory framework for the introduction of the digital euro. 

It is hoped that the political negotiations and adoption of the digital euro regulation will be completed later this year, allowing the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) to take a formal decision by the end of the year and launch pilot projects, with the actual introduction of the digital euro planned for 2029. 

Zita Zariņa highlights a number of important aspects of the digital euro that will help the public better understand the digital euro project and its impact on our everyday lives. 

- The digital euro will complement rather than replace cash 

The digital euro will be a complementary alternative to existing solutions and a new way of making payments digitally. Just as cash (banknotes and coins), the digital euro will be central bank money. Cash will continue to exist and remain available to people as it is today. Moreover, EU legislators and the ECB are working to strengthen the use and availability of cash. 

- Europe will have its own public, pan-European payment solution 

The introduction of the digital euro will provide Europe with a payment infrastructure based on central bank money and European rules. This will reduce Europe's dependence on payment solutions managed outside Europe and provide an additional solution for people's everyday digital payments. The distribution and use of the digital euro will be supported by European payment service providers, through which everyone will be able to open a digital euro account and make payments. 

- The digital euro will be intended primarily for everyday payments, not for saving 

The digital euro will be a means of payment that can be used in shops, online, and for payments to other people. To prevent it from becoming an alternative to bank deposits and having negative effects on the functioning of banks, a limit will be set on the amount of digital euro that can be held in each customer's account. However, everyone will be able to link their digital euro account to their commercial bank account, enabling them to make payments even when the amount of the desired purchase exceeds the balance in their digital euro account (the shortfall will automatically be taken from the commercial bank account and transferred to the payee). 

- The digital euro will also be usable without an internet connection 

The digital euro is designed to enable offline payments, allowing people to pay each other and make payments to merchants even without an internet or mobile network connection at a particular moment. This will be particularly important in places with poor connectivity and in situations where digital communications are disrupted. 

In Latvia, critical financial services, including offline payments, have already been introduced, but such solutions are not widespread elsewhere in Europe, and the digital euro will reduce this vulnerability. In Latvia, it will serve as a backup solution providing greater security. 

- The digital euro will be designed with particular attention to privacy 

When making online payments with the digital euro, the Eurosystem (comprising the ECB and the national central banks of the euro area) itself will not be able to identify the individual user and their payments. The payment service provider, in turn, will have access to the information necessary to process the payment and comply with regulatory requirements. This is similar to how bank accounts operate today. 

Meanwhile, offline payments will provide a level of privacy similar to that of cash – only the payer and the payee will know about the specific payment. 

- The digital euro will also be able to provide an additional payment option in the event of technical disruptions or crises 

The digital euro is being developed with the aim of ensuring continuity of payments even in challenging circumstances. Its offline functionality will enable payments to be made even without an internet or mobile network connection. Moreover, the architecture of the digital euro system provides solutions for situations where a particular payment service provider experiences a disruption and is unavailable to process a digital euro payment. 

When can we expect the new euro banknotes in our wallets?

Jānis Blūms, Head of the Cash Department of Latvijas Banka, outlines the next stages in the development and issuance of the new third series of euro banknotes in the "Payment radar". 

He thanks each and every one of the 37 137 people in Latvia who took part in the public survey on the design of the next generation of euro banknotes. Overall, almost 10 million people participated in the survey. People throughout Europe were invited to share their views on which of the proposed designs under two themes – "European culture" and "Rivers and birds" – should be used for future euro banknotes.

The Governing Council of the ECB, which also includes Mārtiņš Kazāks, Governor of Latvijas Banka, is expected to select one of the design proposals by the end of this year. Work will then begin on adapting the selected design for use on banknotes, incorporating complex, high-tech security features as well as various tactile and colour elements needed both to protect the banknotes against counterfeiting and to assist blind and partially sighted persons. 

"The development of banknotes is an ongoing race between central banks and counterfeiters, and this is one of the reasons why banknotes are regularly updated and enhanced. The new banknotes are expected to incorporate various modern technological solutions that will make life more difficult for counterfeiters," notes Jānis Blūms. The existing euro banknotes are already relatively well protected against counterfeiting: across the euro area, 14 counterfeit banknotes were detected per million genuine banknotes in 2025, compared with 18 counterfeit banknotes per million genuine banknotes in 2024. 

Designing attractive and secure euro banknotes is only one step in the process. It is important that, when they are issued, they can be used without restrictions: cashiers need to be familiar with the new banknotes, vending machines need to accept them, and the counterfeit-detection equipment used in shops needs to recognise them. Achieving this will require significant work, both to inform professional cash handlers and to reprogramme various equipment. Surely, the introduction of new banknotes into circulation is a national-level event, and it will be preceded by a wide-ranging information campaign. 

The new euro banknotes will also follow the "feel, look, tilt" principle (https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/banknotes/current/security/html/index.en.html#feel). This will allow anyone to check whether a banknote is genuine. Euro banknotes contain dozens of different features that are difficult to counterfeit, and even if a counterfeiter manages to reproduce one of them, it is very rare to find counterfeit banknotes that successfully replicate several anti-counterfeiting features. 

"No decisions have yet been taken on the timing or technical arrangements for introducing the new euro banknotes. However, previous experience with the first and second series of euro banknotes allows us to confidently expect that the process will be gradual and carefully planned. 

It is also important to remember that, when a new euro banknote design is introduced, people and businesses do not need to exchange their existing banknotes for new ones. The old banknotes retain their status as legal tender indefinitely and are gradually replaced by new-design banknotes as they return to the central bank," reminds the Head of the Cash Department of Latvijas Banka. 

He also looks back at how the first and second series of euro banknotes were introduced. 

"Latvijas Banka is ready for the practical introduction of the new euro banknotes. We will draw on the experience gained during the introduction of the euro in 2012–2014. Particular attention will be paid to communication with professional cash handlers and particularly vulnerable groups in society, as well as to informing the public at large," states Jānis Blūms. "Cash is more than a means of payment and a store of value – it is also one of the elements of society's security. We will develop and issue banknotes and coins for as long as demand for them exists in society. Cash has a future!" 

For the sociological survey data and detailed information, see the autumn 2026 "Payment radar" of Latvijas Banka.