PSCU Payments Index May 2023: A Deep Dive on Contactless Card Payments
Summary: Welcome to the May edition of the PSCU Payments Index! This month’s report finds continued softening of consumer purchasing activity amidst contracting inflation. While overall payment growth is still positive, April 2023 data revealed extended weakening of consumer spend and lower average purchases for both credit and debit cards. This month’s Deep Dive highlights strength in contactless card payments, led partially by generational differences, as well usage concentrations in certain sectors.
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Key takeaways include:
- Transactions in April grew at a higher rate than purchase dollars, for both credit and debit cards, for the second consecutive month. For April, both credit and debit transactions were up 4% year over year. Credit purchases were up 2% and debit purchases were up 3%. For credit purchases, the largest contributor to growth was the Services sector (1.0 percentage point of growth) while the Goods sector offset that with 0.8 percentage point reduction. For debit purchases, three sectors generated the highest growth, with Restaurants, Money Services and Food & Groceries each contributing 0.8 percentage points of growth. Debit purchases were offset by a reduction of 0.6 percentage points in Gasoline.
- Growth in contactless “tap-and-go” transactions remained strong in April, with credit transactions up 9.6 percentage points and debit transactions up 11.7 percentage points compared to a year ago. Growth in “tap-and-go” was strongest in the food-related sectors of Restaurants and Grocery Stores, as well with the younger age demographics of Gen Z and Millennials.
- The credit card delinquency rate for April finished at 1.81%, above the March 2019 pre-pandemic level by 0.13%. Total credit card balances were up 13.9% for April compared to a year ago, while the average credit card balance for active accounts was $2,946, up 8.7% (or $235) year over year.
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