Consumers making 'more frequent, but lower value' card purchases, says Central Bank

Sporting events highlighted as value of card spending in July amounted to €9.98bn

A customer uses a credit card to make a contactless payment. Picture: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

Irish consumers are making more card transactions but at lower values, latest card spending statistics from the Central Bank shows. 

Central Bank data shows the value of card spending in July amounted to €9.98bn, a decrease of €67m (0.67%) from June. Retail spending rose by 1.65% (€69.63m), while social spending grew by €62.55m (4.42%). Spending on services fell by 4.57% (€190.40m). 

Financial Services represented 47% of total spending in the Services sector, and the financial services sub-sector saw a noticeable fall in spending, down 10.65% compared with June. This includes banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions.

The average domestic transaction fell to €35.99, from €37.56 in June, and down 5.51% from July 2025 (€38.09). "This divergence between declining transaction values and rising volumes indicates that consumers are making more frequent, but lower value purchases," the Central Bank said.

July is the peak season for outbound travel, with 1.46 million Irish residents travelling abroad. In July, non-domestic spending amounted to €1.99bn, up by 3.10% from June.
The Central Bank said the exodus of Irish holidaymakers is likely to be partly responsible for the increase in non-domestic point-of-service (POS) expenditure, which saw retail spending grow by 9.92% (€27.23m), services by 7.12% (€12.20m), and social spending by 12.85% (€28.27m). 

Higher spending in restaurants and bars contributed significantly to the growth of the Social sector. Month-on-month, spending in the ’Eating Places, Restaurants’ merchant category increased by 3.26% (€9.76 million), while spending in ’Drinking Places’ rose by 7.31% (€13.97m). The Central Bank said large sporting events, including Mayo's win over Kerry in the All-Ireland football final, may partially reflect the spending rise. "Overall, the episode shows that major sporting events could have a measurable impact on card spending," said the Central Bank report.

In July, the value of contactless payments reached €2.98bn, an increase of 3.66% from the prior month. NFC payments, a subset of contactless payments, amounted to €2.14bn, which presents a monthly increase of 3.92%. "Both segments exhibited strong annual growth, with contactless increasing by 16.09% and NFC payments rising by a notable 26.28%," the report said.