POS Terminal Boom in Georgia: How It’s Reshaping Small Business Payments

By 2025, digital payment infrastructure in Georgia is expanding most visibly through the rapid growth of POS (Point of Sale) terminals. According to the National Bank of Georgia, as of May 2025, approximately 130,000 POS terminals are operating across the country. As bm.ge reports, this marks a 6.5% increase over the previous year and a 29% rise over two years.

In the same month, POS transactions totaled 2.1 billion GEL (source: National Bank of Georgia). According to bm.ge, this figure is 500 million GEL higher than in May of the previous year. On average, each POS terminal processed around 16,100 GEL in monthly transactions—roughly 530–540 GEL per day.

Annual POS transaction volume has grown sharply in recent years. According to the National Bank of Georgia, the total value of POS payments exceeded 13.4 billion GEL. As bm.ge notes, this reflects a 49% year-over-year increase, driven by the recovery of tourism and a boost in domestic consumption.

Meanwhile, e-commerce payments are growing more modestly. Online payments amounted to 6.46 billion GEL (source: National Bank of Georgia), which is just a 2% increase compared to the previous year. The number of online transactions grew by 3 million.

This trend is especially important for small and micro businesses. Greater access to POS terminals allows them to attract customers who prefer card or mobile payments. It also increases transparency of cash flow, simplifying tax compliance and strengthening integration with the formal financial system.

Beyond infrastructure expansion, the National Bank of Georgia is preparing to launch an instant payment system, aligned with PSD2 and European open banking standards. This new system will enable real-time bank transfers and reduce payment costs,

Despite this progress, a significant digital divide remains. According to the World Bank’s Geneva Findex, 70.5% of Georgian adults have a bank account, but only 62% use digital payments—usage is especially low in rural and older populations (source: World Bank).

In sum, the growing number of POS terminals is gradually reshaping how small businesses participate in Georgia’s economy. It simplifies sales, improves liquidity, and creates the digital infrastructure necessary for the next phase of the country’s payment ecosystem. When paired with real-time transfer systems and improved financial literacy, this shift has the potential to make the Georgian payment landscape more inclusive, accessible, and modern.