BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 3. Georgia issued 12.9 million new American Express debit cards in the period from January through August 2026, up 15.1% year-on-year.
The figures were calculated by Trend based on data published by the National Bank of Georgia.
The calculations show that the indicator also increased in January-August 2025, rising 24.2% compared with the same period of 2024, when 9.1 million cards were issued.
Meanwhile, 6.2 million new American Express debit cards were issued in January-August 2023. The indicator therefore increased by 45.1% in the same period of 2024.
The data show that American Express debit card issuance in Georgia continued to grow over the past three years, although the annual growth rate gradually slowed, Trend reports.
For reference, Georgia’s payment infrastructure includes both retail and wholesale payment systems, with the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) responsible for regulation and oversight. Card transactions are processed mainly through Georgian Card and United Financial Corporation, while commercial banks and registered payment service providers participate in the systems.
The country has seen a steady expansion in the use of bank cards and non-cash payments. A 2025 report by Galt & Taggart, based on NBG and IMF data, said the average adult in Georgia held more than three bank cards, compared with 2.3 in 2019 and 3.2 in 2024. The growth has been supported partly by digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Georgia is also developing infrastructure for digital and instant payments. In May 2026, the NBG completed the modernization of its real-time gross settlement and clearing systems, adopting the ISO 20022 standard and preparing the infrastructure for an Instant Payments System.
