Cards account for two-thirds of sales and cash is receding: what terminal data shows

For merchants that accept both cash and cards, cards already account for 66% of % of sales

According to an analysis by FiskalPRO, for a typical merchant that accepts both cash and cards, card payments account for 66 % of sales. Last year, it was 64 %. In Prague, this is roughly four-fifths of sales. The analysis is based on anonymized data from over 1,000 companies and more than 19 million payments for January to September 2025 and 2026.

What's new?

More interesting than the percentage itself is the dynamics. At all terminals in the sample, the number of card payments increased by 21.2 %. At merchants that accepted the card last year, the growth is more modest: typically 4.4 % more payments and 6.6 % higher turnover from cards. At the same time, cash receipts typically decreased by 11 %, most in Prague and cities with over 50,000 inhabitants.

By sector, gastronomy is growing the fastest (restaurants, bistros and bars: +11.8 % payments), where the card accounts for 58 % of sales. For food, it is 57 % and +4 %, in smaller municipalities with up to 5,000 inhabitants by 56 %. Fashion and sports are stagnating. A typical payment in a restaurant is 298 CZK, in fast food 186 CZK, so the card is gaining ground even for small amounts.

What does this mean for entrepreneurs?

In the short term, a store without a terminal is no longer a common exception. According to the survey cited in the press release (509 respondents, May 2026), three quarters of people expect card payments even from smaller businesses, and 64% of them have never spent the planned amount because they could not pay by card. In the medium term, the topic is linked to EET 2.0, which is due to start in January 2027. Anyone who buys a cash register for it should immediately consider a terminal. There are devices on the market that connect the cash register and the terminal. We are preparing this offer.

What should you bring?

1. Calculate what proportion of your sales are cards today and estimate your monthly volume accordingly. offer comparison.
2. Compare the total costs: transaction fee, flat rate, device price, and length of commitment, not just one item.
3. If you are purchasing a cash register for EET 2.0, find out if there is a cash register + terminal solution in one and compare it to separate devices.
4. For small payments (around 200 to 300 CZK), check how your tariff structure treats them, because the fixed part of the fee weighs the most here.
5. Don't take the results of one supplier as a market-wide fact. Compare offers from multiple providers.