Holiday credit card spending soars

Photo / 123rf

Credit card spending in December topped the previous months in 2016, and exceeded the billings of the previous two years.

Domestic billings reached $3.5 billion during the Christmas month, up from $3.4 billion in 2015 and $3.3b in 2014.

Overseas credit cards racked up a neat $589 million in New Zealand, reflecting the surge in tourism.

Conversely, Kiwis overseas spent $408m in December, up from $373m in the previous year.

Total credit card billings in New Zealand for December reached $4.1b, an 8.5 per cent increase on the previous year.

Paymark also recorded an uptick in December sales with $6b in eftpos, debit and credit card transactions.

Data released this month from electronic payments company showed a 6.6 per cent increase in spending for the month on last year.