Christmas shoppers give credit cards a workout

Australians spent $25.1 billion on their credit cards in December 2019 – $1.3 billion more than the previous year, according to today’s RBA figures.

December had the highest number and value of purchases on record, with customers making an average of 19.8 card purchases in the month, totalling an average of $1,822 per account holder.

However, the exodus away from credit cards has not abated – today’s data reveals there are 933,416 fewer credit card accounts than in December 2018.

RBA credit card statistics: totals

RBA credit card statistics: per account

Notes: Excludes commercial cards, using original data from the RBA. Data released 12 February 2020. Some people have more than one card.

Sally Tindall, research director at RateCity.com.au, said Christmas shoppers spent up on their credit cards in December.

“Millions of Australians might have turned their back on credit cards but those that are still using them, gave them a record workout in December,” she said.

“The average account holder tapped and swiped their credit card 19.8 times in December, the highest number on record.

“It’s also good to see that people with credit cards are being slightly more diligent with them. The average credit card debt per account holder has crept down 2 per cent year-on-year.

“Today’s figures show that despite the recent changes in the way we pay, the love affair with credit cards isn’t over just yet,” she said.

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