New chapter on payment systems statistics
Banco de Portugal starts this month the publication of a set of new information on payment systems in Portugal, including data on the evolution of the different payment instruments made available by the national banking system to its customers.
These tables constitute Chapter J – Payment Systems Statistics – of the Statistical Bulletin, and are also available through the BPstat | Estatísticas online |.
Formerly, only part of this information was published in the Statistical Bulletin (Tables “B.11.1 – Transactions in the net settlement system – Submitted by type of system”, “B.11.2 - Transactions in the net settlement system – Returned by type of system” and “B.11.3 - Transactions in the gross settlement system – By type of system”), Banco de Portugal Annual Report (Chapter “Activities of the Bank”), the Payment Systems Report and the Blue Book (disclosed by the European Central Bank). Banco de Portugal now has a wider range of statistical information available on: (i) overall characterisation of the Portuguese payment systems; (ii) interbank clearing and settlement systems in Portugal; and (iii) payment instruments in the interbank clearing and settlement systems.
Three examples on how this information can be used may be found below: (i) payment systems infrastructures in Portugal; (ii) transactions processed through the clearing and settlement systems in Portugal; and (iii) payment instruments in the clearing and settlement systems.
a) Payment systems infrastructures in Portugal
Table J.1.5 presents data on the number of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and Point of Sale (POS) terminals in Portugal. These data show an increase in the number of electronic infrastructures, contributing to a more efficient payment system.
The number of POS terminals at the disposal of banking customers, made available by the credit institutions operating in Portugal, has registered a steady growth over the last years, confirming the rapid modernisation of the domestic payment system.
At the end of 2008 there were 16.9 thousand ATM and around 226.1 thousand POS, corresponding to an average annual increase of 7% and 12%, respectively, when compared to 2001.
Comparing Portugal with the remaining European Union countries, and taking the number of ATM and POS terminals per million inhabitants, it can be concluded that Portugal is considerably above the average (186% of the European Union average for ATM and 130% for POS).