Card payments using mobile phones jump by 26 per cent in December

There was a “significant” increase in customers using their mobile phones to make card payments last year, as Central Bank figures show the value of mobile wallet and NFC payments jumped by 26 per cent in December alone.

Card payment data shows that Irish residents spent €8.8 billion using debit and credit cards in December, as Christmas trends saw spending jump by 5.4 compared to the previous month.

The monthly increase in overall card spending in December was driven by domestic spending, which grew by 7.7 per cent or €529 million, to a total of €7.4 billion. Card spending by Irish residents abroad fell by 4.8 per cent, or by €74 million, to €1.4 billion.

Of the €7.4 billion in domestic card payments made in December, €2.4 billion was paid using contactless methods.

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Broken down further, €1.3 billion in card spending was via mobile wallets or NFC (near field communication) payments, a 26 per cent increase compared to November.

Last year, the share of card payments value using mobile wallets or NFC technology grew from 9.9 per cent in January, to 17.9 per cent in December.

The Central Bank noted that this growth is even more significant in terms of the volume of payments. In January last year, 20.5 per cent of payments were made using mobile wallets or NFC technology, growing to 31.2 per cent by December.

Regional data shows that the largest volume increase in mobile wallet and NFC payments last year was in Meath, where they increased by 14 per cent between January and December, while the smallest increase of 6.5 per cent was in Roscommon.

Contactless card payments were still the most used option in 2023, accounting for 35.74 per cent of all transactions.

Total card spending at physical payment terminals jumped by 17.2 per cent in December to €4.9 billion, as shoppers spent an additional €730 million compared to November. At the same time, remote card payments fell by 6.6 per cent to €3.9 billion.

Seasonal Christmas spending saw the value of retail card payments in December rise by 10.6 per cent compared to the previous month, reaching a new annual peak of €4.5 billion. Social spending also peaked in December last year, jumping by 16.2 per cent from November and totalling €1.2 billion.

Card spending in the services sector, which includes transport, accommodation, health and utilities, continued its slow decrease, falling by 3.6 per cent between November and December to €2.8 billion, the lowest level since April 2023.

Cash withdrawals from ATMs and cashback transactions increased by 11.9 per cent in December when compared to the previous month, to a total of €1.2 billion.

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