Austria Country Report

Table of Contents

A comprehensive overview of the cards, payments and consumer banking market in Austria.

Austria Cards and Payments Market Key Facts

• Consumer indebtedness is relatively low in Austria with many consumers preferring to finance large purchases through savings.
• Cash use is high by European standards with some reports suggesting that four out of five consumer transactions are cash based.
• Revolving facilities on credit cards are rarely used by Austrians. Fewer than two percent of households carry credit card debt.
• Deferred debit cards are the preferred pay-later cards which, when combined with overdraft facilities, offer a cheaper alternative to revolving credit cards.
• The rollover rate on credit card outstandings was estimated at just 14.5 percent in 2016.
• Net interest income accounts for less than five percent of credit card revenue. Issuers are unusually dependent on fee-based income.
• Debit cards are more widespread than credit cards in Austria and are used on average six times per month compared to 3.8 times for credit cards.
• Mastercard is the leading card network. It holds a narrow lead over Visa in the credit card segment and has a virtual monopoly in debit cards through its Maestro brand.
• Banks in Austria primarily issue credit cards through two centralised card companies, Paylife and Card Complete.
• Six Payment Services and Card Complete dominate the merchant acquiring market. These two companies previously held exclusive licences to acquire for Mastercard and Visa respectively, but the market has since opened up