OREANDA-NEWS. August 19, 2014. SEB’s statistics indicate a significant difference in bank card usage between Estonians and Lithuanians. Whereas half the card transactions are completed in clothing or shoe shops in Lithuania, clothing purchases account for 11 per cent of usage in Estonia as the popularity of card payments grows, with one half completed at grocery shops instead.

In Lithuania, where using cash in grocery shops remains popular, this spending accounts for just 6 per cent of purchases made with cards. Analysis also examined spending on leisure, health, housekeeping and transport.

“Although Estonia and Lithuania are close geographically, habits vary quite a bit when it comes to the use of bank cards. In Estonia, products or services are paid for with bank cards in 52 per cent of cases, whereas in Lithuania the use of payment terminals is much less common, making up only one-third of the total volume of card transactions. The rest of the transactions consist of cash withdrawals from ATMs,” said Triin Messimas, Development Manager of Private Loans at SEB.

Older clients are more cautious when it comes to payments with bank cards. “Both in Estonia and Lithuania, the younger generation are using bank cards actively; however, for older people, card payments are something they are still not used to and are likely to engage in cautiously. That said, Estonian seniors are somewhat more innovation minded than their Lithuanian peers. In terms of gender, women are more willing to pay for their purchases with bank cards than men are, with no difference in client behaviour between the two countries,” Messimas noted.

SEB surveyed 5 000 randomly selected bank card users aged 16 to 70 in Estonia and Lithuania in late 2013.