Georgia reaching number one globally by contactless penetration – 95% in only 10 years, for domestic transactions

Consumers embracing benefits of tapping to pay with Georgia leading contactless penetration in domestic transactions globally followed by Australia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Cyprus

Visa this week announced that Georgia is now leading the way globally to improve checkout through fast, easy and secure contactless payments. Georgia’s contactless penetration is now over 95% in domestic transaction, according to Visa data as of November 2019.

For many years, Georgia has been front and center in terms of the adoption and use of payment innovations. Consumers in Georgia have quickly embraced the benefits of tapping to pay with contactless cards and digital wallets with more than nine out of every 10 face-to-face domestic payment transactions occurring with a tap in the market.

“Georgia has always been a pioneer in adopting new payment solutions, right from being the first country in the CISSEE region to conduct a contactless transaction in a drugstore back in 2009 and now, with the recent launch of Apple Pay. Georgia reaching number one globally by contactless penetration is a success that is shared with all our partner financial institutions and market stakeholders and I want to thank them all for their trust in Visa and passion towards bringing innovative solutions to Georgian consumers,” said Cristina Doros, Visa Country Manager for the Caucasus region.

Key milestones of Georgia’s contactless payment journey over the last 10 years:

o 2009: Together with Liberty Bank Visa completed the first Visa Contactless transaction in the CISSEE region;

o 2013 Jointly with Bank of Georgia, Visa launched contactless acceptance at McDonald’s restaurants across the country;

o 2013: TBC Bank initiated a large-scale deployment of contactless POS terminals and issued a series of iconic Visa contactless card designs and stickers. Later, TBC Bank cemented these achievements by enabling the 1st Visa Contactless mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) solution;

o 2015: VTB Bank Georgia launched host card emulation (HCE) technology enabling mobile payment services – to enable payments just by tapping a mobile phone to any contactless POS terminal;

o 2016: Together with Bank of Georgia, Visa launched Visa Token Services, to accelerate disruptive innovation in eCommerce and mobile payments;

o 2019: Georgia became the first country in the Caucasus where Apple Pay was launched.