Value of contactless payments by phone up nearly 24%

Value of total card spending reached €10.05bn across 262.4 million transactions in June, while use of cash continued to decline

Cash withdrawals amounted to €1.08bn in June, while the number of transactions totalled just over seven million.

The value of contactless payments made using mobile phone wallets has increased by nearly 24% over the year to June, as the move away from cash continues, new data from the Central Bank of Ireland shows.

In June, the value of total card spending reached €10.05bn across 262.4 million transactions. On an annual basis, the value of card spending rose by 5.87%, and volume rose by 7.6%.

Spending domestically stood at €8.12bn, down €173.7m from May, as more people were likely to be on holiday. The average domestic card transaction stood at €37.56, down 1.68% from June last year.

Domestic card spending is further split into point-of-sale transactions and online payments. In June, the point of sale spending amounted to €4.27bn, while online payments stood at €3.84bn — up 6.81% and 3.49% respectively.

“This difference suggests a consumer preference for in-store shopping, outperforming digital channels in both total spending and annual growth,” the Central Bank said.

Contactless payments reached €2.97bn, up 13.68% year-on-year, and within that €2.06bn was specifically using the mobile wallet on phones. which is up 23.92%.

Point-of-sale non-domestic spending reached €669.25m, up 24% compared to May, likely due to Irish residents travelling abroad for summer holidays. Non-domestic online payments stood at €1.26bn.

Both point-of-sale and online payments grew, rose 7.91% and 9.15%, respectively.

Cash withdrawals in June amounted to €1.08bn, while the number of transactions totalled just over seven million.

“The ongoing shift away from cash is reflected in year-on-year declines of 3% in value and 6.43% in volume,” the Central Bank of Ireland said.

Retail and services were the largest sectors of card spending by Irish residents, making up 41% and 44% of the total.

One of the main drivers in the services sector was accommodation spending, which stood at €385.12m, up 7.83% year-on-year.

The main merchant driving this growth was the category of hotels, motels and resorts, where spending amounted to €338.63m, up 8.15%.

However, the services sector saw weakness in financial services. Spending in this area declined by 5.11% annually in June to €2.1bn.

Within this, financial institutions was the main cause, contracting to €1.63bn, a 7.64% decline year-on-year.