OTP bank, Hungary’s biggest commercial lender, has 35,000 clients registered to use its Simple mobile payment application.

A further 10,000 Hungarians with accounts at other banks still use the Simple app by topping up a virtual payment card.

Purchases made using the Simple by OTP app jumped by a factor of four to 37 billion forints (EUR 119m) last year.

Gránit Bank, the first lender to introduce mobile payments in Hungary, in the autumn of 2016, told the paper about one-quarter of the bank cards it issues are virtual.

MKB Bank said it had issued “several thousand” virtual bank cards. K and H Bank said more than 14,000 of its bank cards are virtual.