Latvia Goes Cashless: Where Expenses Have Increased the Most 0 21

At the same time, cash withdrawals using payment cards in the first quarter of 2026 amounted to a total of 1.099 billion euros, which is 4.8% or 55.226 million euros less than in the same period last year.

In stores, transactions using payment cards in the first three months of this year totaled 1.747 billion euros, which is 7.2% more than in the first quarter of 2025, including clothing stores — 122.751 million euros, which is 5.1% more than a year earlier.

Transactions using payment cards for passenger cars and other vehicles in the first three months of this year amounted to 208.684 million euros, which is 12.3% more compared to the same period in 2025, while transactions for transport services totaled 119.452 million euros, which is 2.7% more.

At the same time, transactions using payment cards for professional services in the first quarter of 2026 amounted to 105.765 million euros, which is 10.5% more compared to the first quarter of last year, and for entertainment — 64.174 million euros, which is 20.1% more than a year earlier.

In turn, payments using payment cards to airlines in the first three months of this year amounted to 45.463 million euros, which is 0.9% less than in the first quarter of 2025, payments to hotels and other accommodations totaled 43.677 million euros, which is 11.3% more than a year ago, and utility bills paid using payment cards amounted to 33.417 million euros, which is 24.7% more than in the first three months of 2025.

For government services, payments using payment cards in the first quarter of this year amounted to 15.753 million euros, which is 6.3% less than in the first quarter of last year, for repair services — 15.362 million euros, which is 19.5% more, for car rentals — 9.754 million euros, which is 7.6% more, and for agricultural services — 7.158 million euros, which is 14.6% more.