Spending on debit and credit cards reaches record high

Spending on both debit and credit cards reached a record high in the third quarter of the year, up by 8 per cent on the year to €18.1 billion according to new figures from the Central Bank.

Debit card transactions (including ATM transactions) were 5.4 times the value of credit card expenditure over the quarter, while the total number of active debit and credit cards stood at over six million at the end of Q3 2018.

Indeed paying with a debit card for the purchase of goods or services now accounts for 55 per cent of all transactions, with the value of such transactions up by 10 per cent to €10 billion. The average spend per transaction is €46.93.

The figures show that credit card spending continues to fall, with the value falling by 1 per cent year-on-year to September to €884.4 million. However, there were some hefty increases, most notably in the utilities category, with spending up by 17 per cent, suggesting that people are turning to credit to settle their home heating and electricity bills. Credit card spending in the retail sector also advanced, up by 1 per cent, while spending in the services and social sectors rose by an average of about 5 per cent on the year.

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Spending online rose by 11 per cent year-on-year to €1.5 billion, but as a share of total transactions it’s actually in decline, having fallen from a peak of 29 per cent in January 2018 to 27 per cent in September.

Ecommerce now accounts for 23 per cent of all debit card expenditure and 48 per cent of all credit card purchases.

Looking abroad, Irish consumers spent some €684 million on their debit and credit cards outside of Ireland in the three months to end-September, up by 14 per cent on the previous year. Use of debit cards advanced by 16 per cent, while credit card use increased by 9 per cent. Most consumers favour their debit card, rather than their credit card abroad, with debit cards accounting for 74 per cent of total card expenditure abroad.