Card spending up 5.7% in December as cash use continues to decline, says Bank of Ireland

Total BoI card spending during 2025 was up 5.3%

Wed, 14 Jan, 2026 - 11:03

Martin Claffey

Credit and debit card spending was up 5.7% in December, according to Bank of Ireland, with consumers increasingly using alternatives to cash for payments.

Total Bank of Ireland card spending during 2025 was up 5.3%.

Monthly retail spending recorded a 1% increase compared to December 2024 and was up across several categories, with spending on electrical goods up by 6.3%, spending on services up by 5.7%, and spending in restaurants and pubs up 2.5%. Sizable year-on-year December spending increases were posted in education (+10.5%) and health (+9.5%), whilst entertainment spend rose 2.8%.

Use of cash has continues to decline, with ATM withdrawals by the bank's customers down 3.7% in 2025, and accounting for 13% of overall monthly spending. In pre-covid times cash accounted for around 30% of monthly spending. Cash as a percentage of total Bank of Ireland card spending has fallen for the past five years in a row.

The bank said overall credit and debit card spending up 5.7% was ahead of the latest consumer price index inflation of 3.2% posted in November, indicating real price adjusted spending growth by households.

"Consumers came out spending over Christmas across most major categories," said Bank of Ireland chief economist Conall MacCoille. “These spending figures are strong and in line with expectations, with Q3 2025 national accounts showing that annual consumer spending grew robustly in the first nine months of the year, up 2.9% on average. This is consistent with other indicators such as the 5.1% rise in Vat receipts in 2025 and a rise of around 5% rise in earnings to Q3 2025.

"While inflation ticked up towards late 2025, it's likely to average around 2.2% for the year, and this card spending data reflects that real consumer spending rose by close to 3% in 2025 – in line with our forecasts.”