Restaurants and DIY stores fuel spending as monthly card payments up over 15% in March

Central Bank of Ireland said the significant rise in card spending could be partly attributed to St. Patrick's Day and the start of the spring season

St. Patrick's Day Parade in Limerick 2026 

A surge in expenditure on restaurants and DIY led to card spending in March rising by almost 16% compared to the previous month.

New figures released by the Central Bank on Wednesday show that the total value of card payments in March totalled €10.1bn, reflecting a monthly increase of 15.7%.