Significant Increase in Payment Operations in Tunisia
According to the "Payment Figures in Tunisia" bulletin published by the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) on Tuesday, the number of operations carried out by bills of exchange increased by 161% to 4.6 million operations, with a total value of 54,226.9 million dinars (MD), representing a 59.7% increase compared to 2024.
Decline in Check Operations
The BCT also reported a 67.5% decline in the number of check operations, with 7.9 million operations representing a total value of 53,477.1 MD, a decrease of 58.8%. The rejection rate for bills of exchange and checks stood at 10% and 1.9% in terms of number, and 8.8% and 3.3% in terms of value, as of December 2025.
Increase in Telecompensated Payment Operations
In the context of telecompensated payment operations, the BCT indicated that the number of operations carried out via direct debits increased by 21.4% to 8.2 million operations, with a total value of 30,693.6 MD, representing a 22% increase. The rejection rate for direct debits stood at 48.2% in terms of number and 6.6% in terms of value. Operations carried out via transfers increased by 11.1% in terms of number to 38.5 million operations, with a total value of 79,590.6 MD, representing a 42.3% increase. The rejection rate for transfers stood at 0.1% in terms of both number and value.
Growth in Bank Card Operations
The BCT also reported that approximately 164.8 million operations were carried out using bank cards in Tunisia as of December 2025, with a total value of 29,498 million dinars (MD), representing an 8.9% increase in the number of transactions and a 12.3% increase in value compared to 2024. These operations were primarily used for cash withdrawals (60%) and payments (40%).
Increase in Number of Bank Cards
The BCT also reported a 6.6% increase in the number of bank cards to 5,851,000 cards, compared to December 2024. However, the number of ATMs and bank terminals decreased by 0.2% to 3,300.
Mobile Payment Transactions
The number of mobile payment transactions increased by 81% to 8.4 million transactions, with a total value of 1,769 MD, representing a 59% increase as of December 2025.
Electronic Payment Transactions
The BCT reported a 19% increase in the number of electronic payment transactions to 19.3 million operations, with a 31% increase in value to 1,375 MD. Currently, there are 1,005 active merchant sites in Tunisia, representing a 10% decrease compared to 2024, and 43,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), representing a 10% increase.
Proximity Payment Transactions
The BCT reported a 17% increase in the number of proximity payment transactions to 46.8 million operations, with a 20.3% increase in value to 5,978.4 MD.
Real-Time Gross Settlement System (Elyssa-RTGS)
At the end of 2025, the Elyssa-RTGS system, managed by the Central Bank, processed 435,815 transactions with a total value of 6,153.6 billion dinars, representing an 18.2% increase in terms of number and a 36% increase in terms of value compared to 2024.
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