Value of card transactions rose by 14% to €102bn last year

New Central Bank figures show the annual value of card transactions rose by €12.7bn last year, with the number of card payments also rising by more than 13%

In December, the total value of card spending amounted to just over €10bn, reflecting a seasonal spending increase of more than 10% compared to the previous month.

The total value card transactions rose by more than 14% last year compared to 2023, amounting to €102.6bn in the 12 month period. 

New figures released by the Central Bank of Ireland on Wednesday show that the annual value of card transactions rose by €12.7bn last year, with the number of card payments also rising by more than 13% to 2.66bn.

At the end of December 2024, the number of credit and debit cards in circulation in Irish households amounted to 1.58m and 7.95m respectively or 2.1 cards per Irish resident, the Central Bank found.

It also noted that debit cards have become increasingly popular for Irish residents, growing by almost 6% compared to December 2023. 

Meanwhile, credit cards increased by almost 2% when compared to December 2023.

In the final month of 2024, the total value of card spending amounted to just over €10bn, reflecting a seasonal spending increase of more than 10% compared to the previous month. 

Notably, the Central Bank added that the value of card spending rose by almost 14% when compared to December 2023. 

Similarly, it found that the volume of card payments increased by more than 6% in comparison to November 2024, with volume also increasing significantly when compared to December 2023, growing by over 10%.

The Central Bank said that a rise in card payments in December last year was predominately driven by domestic spending, with the value increasing by more than 11% to €8.5bn due to the Christmas period.

Compared to December 2023, the value of domestic transactions rose substantially, the regulator added, rising by almost 14%, while its volume increased by almost 10%.

Dublin had the highest card spend out of the counties, amounting to €4.8bn, which was up by almost 17% in December 2023. Meanwhile, card payments in Cork amounted to €695m in the same period.

Notably, the Central Bank added that counties with the highest spend, that being in excess of €150m, were located in the commuter belt such as Kildare, Meath and Louth and in the mid and southwest part of Ireland.