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Payments/CZ

Czechia

ISO CZ · 3 schemes

Summary

  • QR Platba is the Czech Banking Association standard for QR code payments
  • CERTIS processed 983 million transactions in 2024 (1/3 instant payments)
  • Platba na kontakt (November 2023) enables P2P transfers via phone number
  • Big Three banks (Česká spořitelna, ČSOB, Komerční banka) dominate the market
  • Cardless ATM withdrawals via QR pioneered by Česká spořitelna

Banking landscape

Central Bank

  • Name: Czech National Bank (Česká národní banka, CNB)
  • Website: https://www.cnb.cz/
  • Role: Operates CERTIS, monetary policy, banking supervision

Major Banks (2024)

Rank Bank Name Total Assets (CZK) Market Share Owner
1 Česká spořitelna 2,030,080 M 19.74% Erste Group (Austria)
2 ČSOB 1,920,460 M 18.67% KBC Group (Belgium)
3 Komerční banka ~1,500,000 M ~15% Société Générale (France)
4 UniCredit Bank CZ ~600,000 M ~6% UniCredit (Italy)
5 Raiffeisenbank ~500,000 M ~5% RBI (Austria)
6 MONETA Money Bank 494,980 M 4.81% Domestic

Market Structure

  • Big Three: Česká spořitelna, ČSOB, Komerční banka
  • Foreign Ownership: All Big Three owned by EU banking groups
  • Deposit Market Share:
    • ČSOB: 21.3%
    • Česká spořitelna: 20.9%
    • Komerční banka: 16.0%

2024 Financial Performance

  • Česká spořitelna Net Income: CZK 26.24 billion (+40.46% YoY)
  • ČSOB Net Income: CZK 18.91 billion

Payment infrastructure

National Payment Systems

System Operator Type Status
CERTIS CNB RTGS + Instant Active (1992)
ABO-K CNB Internet banking Active
SKD CNB Short-term bonds Active

CERTIS (Czech Express Real Time Interbank Gross Settlement)

  • Operator: Czech National Bank
  • Launch: March 8, 1992
  • Type: Only interbank payment system in CZK
  • 2024 Volume: 983 million transactions
  • 2024 Value: CZK 386.5 trillion
  • Daily Average: 3.9 million transactions (CZK 1.5 trillion)

Instant Payments via CERTIS

  • Launch: November 2018
  • Participating Banks: 14 (as of 2024)
  • Share: 1/3 of all CERTIS payments are instant
  • Coverage: 50% of interbank retail payments processed instantly
  • Speed: <0.5 seconds for 50% of payments, <1.5 seconds for 99%
  • Total Time: ~3 seconds typical
  • Limits: CZK 0.01 - CZK 2,500,000 per transaction

April 2025 Expansion

  • Non-bank institutions can now access CERTIS
  • Payment institutions and e-money institutions eligible
  • EU/EEA-based institutions can participate

Future Developments

  • 2026: Bulk instant payments planned (e.g., salary payments)

QR code standards

QR Platba (Primary Standard)

Attribute Value
Standard Name QR Platba
Operator Czech Banking Association
Type Payment QR code
Currency CZK only
Adoption Major banks

Supported Banks

  • Air Bank
  • Česká spořitelna
  • ČSOB
  • Equa bank
  • Era
  • Fio banka
  • Komerční banka
  • mBank
  • Raiffeisenbank
  • ZUNO (former)

How QR Platba Works

  1. Sign into mobile or internet banking
  2. Select account and click QR payment button
  3. Scan QR code (camera or file)
  4. Pre-completed payment form opens automatically
  5. Review and submit payment

Benefits

  • Saves time vs. manual entry
  • Reduces errors in payment forms
  • Pre-fills all payment details
  • Faster than classic bank transfers

Cardless ATM via QR

Attribute Value
Type QR-based ATM withdrawal
Pioneer Česká spořitelna (first in CZ)
App George
Time Limit 15 minutes after request

How It Works

  1. ATM displays unique QR code on home screen
  2. Customer logs into George app
  3. Submits withdrawal request
  4. Approaches ATM within 15 minutes
  5. Scans QR code with app
  6. Receives cash (no card, no PIN entry)

Mobile payment apps

App Name Bank QR Platba ATM QR P2P Phone
George Česká spořitelna Yes Yes Yes
ČSOB Smart ČSOB Yes No Yes
Mobilní banka Komerční banka Yes No Yes
My Air Air Bank Yes No Yes
Raiffeisen Raiffeisenbank Yes No Yes

George (Česká spořitelna)

  • Users: 3 million
  • Features:
    • QR code payments
    • Cardless ATM via QR
    • Instant payments
    • "Pay me the set amount" QR generation
    • Bill payments
    • Card management

ČSOB Smart

  • Features:
    • QR code invoice scanning
    • Biometric authentication
    • Card PIN display
    • Card limit management
    • Insurance integration

Schemes

Scheme Type Symbology Adoption Technical standard
QR Platba Payment QR QR Code Major banks qr-platba
Platba na kontakt Phone P2P Phone # 8 banks platba-na-kontakt
ATM QR Cardless withdrawal QR Code Česká spořitelna —

Sources

Full country report

CZ-czech-republic.md

Schemes

Standards

Primary · 3

Mentioned · 3

source · docs/payments/CZ/index.md