Credit card penetration in 42 countries in Europe 2021
In 2021, the share of the adult population in European countries varied between eight percent in Albania to as high as 71 percent in Norway. Using a credit card allows the cardholder to pay for goods and services with the agreed promise to the card issuer that they will repay the amount borrowed either in installments or as a single payment. In Europe, the credit card is a less popular payment choice as compared to the debit card.
Two horse race
In Europe, there are two main credit card providers. Between Visa and Mastercard they make up over 90 percent of the purchase volume market share across Europe. In total, there are over 810 million payment cards across the continent.
Credit card transaction value
When it comes to usage, there is one European country that is far more excepting of getting out the credit card. In 2017, the United Kingdom saw well over 190 billion euros in credit card transactions. This was more than six time the amount spent in France.
