Card spending drops 18% in January amid travel and dining slump

Credit and debit card spending declined 18 per cent on the year in January to €5.13 billion amid Level-5 Covid-19 restrictions, driven by a slump across the transport, accommodation and dining sectors, according to the Central Bank.

In January, in-store spending decreased by 27 per cent over the period to €2.62 billion, though the amount of money spent online rose 10 per cent on the year to €2.48 million, according to a spokesman for the bank.

While spending on groceries and perishable items rose 25 per cent on the year in January to €1.1 billion, it was off 28 per cent from the busy Christmas shopping period of December. Spending on clothing dropped 19 per cent year on year, while expenditure on transport and accommodation both plunged more than 80 per cent.

Restaurants

Credit and debit card spending at cafes and restaurants dropped 52 per cent.

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“The total number of credit and debit card transactions fell in January to 99 million, from 146 million in December, a decrease of 32 per cent,” the bank said. “Of this, 85 million refer to individual debit card Point of Sale (PoS) transactions in January, with an average spending of €44.05 per transaction. This represents a decrease in both volume and average spend.”