The network of electronic payment providers developed in Lebanon in 2025: the Bank of Lebanon recorded 4,836 points, compared with 3,955 in 2024. Meanwhile, the number of bank payment terminals decreases over the year. These developments describe different infrastructures. They do not prove that the new points replace banking equipment or that cash is falling back.
Payments in Lebanon take on several channels, which statistics do not allow to add without caution. The December 2025 macroeconomic review, released by the BDL in April 2026, separates the bank fleet from the activities of electronic payment providers. Its annual balance sheet shows an extension of some networks, but also a decrease of several amounts transferred.
Payments in Lebanon: two networks, two units
The 4,836 points identified among providers include distributors and cash deposit or withdrawal terminals. Their number increases by 881, or 22.3% year-on-year. At the same time, there are 25 institutions in this category, a total unchanged from June 2025.
An establishment is therefore not a service point. The same company can operate several points. The number of institutions actively offering an electronic portfolio rose from 12 in December 2024 to 19 in 2025. The latter figure includes active suppliers, not individual portfolios or customers.
| Indicator | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider points, including distributors and terminals | 3,955 | 4,836 |
| Institutions actively offering an electronic portfolio | 12 december | 19 |
| Bank network payment terminals in December | 24 953 | 22 357 |
Both parks do not perform exactly the same functions. In particular, a bank terminal is used to accept payment from a merchant. A terminal for loading a wallet or removing cash is another step in the circuit. Counting them together would produce an indicator difficult to interpret, without common nomenclature or control of any overlaps.
The annual decline in terminals masks a recovery in the second half of the year
The bank stock increased from 24,953 terminals in December 2024 to 22,357 a year later. The calculated decrease is about 10.4 per cent. But the trajectory is not uniform: the BDL recorded 25,033 aircraft in March 2025, then 19,911 in June. The number was then 20,732 in August and 22,357 in December.
The second half thus recovers 2,446 terminals compared to the June level. It does not bring the park back to its previous December level. Describe only the annual decline would erase this partial recovery; to mention only the rebound since June would eliminate the contraction over twelve months.
However, the presence of a terminal does not indicate its actual activity. Park data do not give the number of purchases paid, their amount, or the proportion of businesses accepting each method of payment. Installed equipment can be used little. Conversely, a smaller number of terminals can handle more operations if their use increases.
More points does not mean more money transferred
The comparison with the flows recorded by providers illustrates this difference. Incoming cross-border electronic transfers, called TECs in the report, rose from about $2.8 billion in 2024 to $2.5 billion in 2025. The BDL is down 11.6% from its unrounded amounts. Internal transactions received and remitted also decreased from $2.7 billion to $2.2 billion.
The densification of the network therefore coexists with a decline in these volumes in value. It cannot be said that each point deals with more money. Calculating an average per point would also require additional caution: the annual total flows and the number of points at the end of the period do not measure exactly the same duration of activity.
These transfers also do not cover the entire monetary circulation of the country. The observed scope is that of the contractors and the operations defined in the report. Incoming $2.5 billion should not be presented as a whole of diaspora transfers. The total aggregates several patterns, while other channels can record separate shipments.
Digital can facilitate cash flow
An electronic wallet and withdrawal terminal do not describe a liquid-free economy. A user can feed a cash account, transfer the money electronically, and then see the beneficiary withdraw it in cash. The operation combines digital processing and two physical movements.
In order to measure cash substitution, payments remaining entirely electronic, deposits and withdrawals, as well as the uses of beneficiaries, should be monitored. The number of suppliers or points is not enough. The BDL presents these services precisely in the context of a financial system reoriented towards cash and digital operations since the 2019 crisis.
The extension of the network can improve the proximity of a service, but its accessibility also depends on schedules, fees, cash availability and geographical coverage. The national total does not measure any of these dimensions. It does not alone demonstrate an equivalent improvement in all regions or for all users.
The next balance sheet should therefore be read in several ways: location of points, actual active suppliers, operations carried out and conditions of use. The 22.3% increase in the network of providers is a specific result for 2025. It describes an expanding infrastructure, not yet the frequency of use, the cost paid by customers or the decline in their reliance on banknotes.
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