Hungary Country Report

Hungary Payments Market | Country Report

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

HUNGARY CARDS & PAYMENTS REPORT | KEY FACTS

• Hungary's economy has struggled to shake off the effects of the global financial crisis, and consumer credit outstandings have contracted by 25 per cent since 2009.
• Historically, consumers in Hungary availed of foreign currency consumer loans (predominantly in Swiss francs) to take advantage of lower interest rates.
• However, as the value of the Swiss currency appreciated consumers found it difficult to make repayments. This, in turn, forced the government to take various measures to counter issues related to foreign currency loans.
• The central bank imposed limits on the payment-to-income ratio (PTI) on new consumer loans from January 2015. Limits on foreign currency loans were set at much lower levels than on loans in the local currency.
• The regulation also caps the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for mortgage loans at 80 per cent for forint loans, and at 25 per cent and 10 per cent for euro and other currency loans respectively.
• Hungary's payment cards market is reasonably developed, with a penetration rate of 107 cards per 100 adults at the end of 2015.
• Although payment cards are primarily used for cash withdrawals, card payment volume has been on the rise in the country.
• In 2015, the government replaced a 0.3 per cent transaction tax on card payments with a $3 annual fee, to encourage the adoption of electronic payments in the country.
• The Hungarian credit cards market turned profitable in 2015 with a pre-tax profit of $16 million, indicating that following years of contraction the country's credit cards market is about to turn a corner.
• Hungary's largest bank, OTP Bank, holds a commanding position in the country's issuing and acquiring markets.