New Zealand spending on credit, debit cards rises 3.2% in November, Paymark says

Tuesday 6th December 2011

New Zealanders increased spending on their debit and credit cards by 3.2 percent last month, according to Paymark, which processes three quarters of transactions.

Paymark handled 77 million transactions, worth $3.9 million in November, it said in a statement.

“Although annual growth has been slow, Christmas this year is still on track to be busier than last year and we are still planning for a very hectic last few days before Christmas Day, said Phil Deason, a Paymark spokesman.

The increase is slightly below the trend of recent months, not surprising given the double-digit levels experienced amongst cafes/restaurants during the rugby world cup, Deason said.

The biggest rise was in the dry cleaning and laundry sector, up 13 percent, followed by a 7 percent increase for appliance stores and a 5.7 percent gain for beauty and hairdressing.

Auckland/Northland was the fastest growing region in terms of value, rising 4.8 percent, with a peak growth rate of 7.6 percent in South Canterbury.

Credit card transactions rose 2.2 percent and debit cards rose 0.9 percent.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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