Card spending gains momentum

Card transactions in the retail industries had the highest monthly rise for a year. Photo / Greg Bowker

Spending by way of electronic card transactions rose 1.2 per cent last month, the biggest monthly increase since April last year.

Statistics New Zealand's data on credit, debit and charge card transactions capture 59 per cent of retail spending.

In the retail industries, which include shops, cafes, restaurants, gas stations and accommodation, card transactions rose a seasonally adjusted 0.8 per cent, the highest monthly increase for a year, reversing a 1 per cent fall in June.

Annual credit card transactions as a proportion of the total value of transactions continued to decline, with credit card use accounting for 45 per cent of transactions in the year to July, the 10th consecutive month to show a fall in the annualised total, Statistics New Zealand said.

Deutsche Bank chief economist Darren Gibbs said that in broad terms recent data suggested a modest recovery in retail spending was under way, supported by very stimulatory monetary and fiscal policy, rising population growth, a recovery in housing market activity and the associated lift in consumer and business confidence.