Shoppers in the Czech Republic made more than one billion payment card transactions for the first time last year, with contactless payment transactions totalling more than 850 million, according to data from SOCR ČR, the Czech commerce and tourism confederation.
Karel Havlíček, the Czech Minister for Industry and Trade, praised the findings at a conference in Prague, saying that contactless payments were widely welcomed by Czech consumers, who "like to try new things and technological innovations.
"I am pleased that large foreign technology companies are also aware of this, and they like to use our market to test new products," he added.
Recognising Retailers
The event also saw a number of retailers operating in the Czech Republic rewarded for their efforts in promoting contactless payments, with Tesco praised for its Scan & Shop system, as well as for facilitating payments through a smartphone.
Other groups acknowledged included Makro Cash & Carry ČR for its E-Sign project, which provides a digital invoice to customers, online pharmacy Pilulka.cz for its Apple Pay integration, and Alensa, an online retailer of spectacles, for introducing a 'virtual mirror' solution.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
