RBA reports latest usage figures for Australian credit cards

RBA reports latest usage figures for Australian credit cards

20 October 2009

Credit cards usage in Australia for the month of August 2009 has reported some interesting figures with debit cards, EFTPOS charges and overall purchasing producing some noted trends. The figures from Reserve Bank of Australia indicate that Australians are maintaining healthy spending habits while also keeping a strong focus on reducing their personal credit cards debt.

Credit Cards

When it came to credit cards and charge cards use in August some of the most significant statistics show:

• The overall value of transactions made with credit cards and charge cards declined by 1.53 per cent to a total of $18.865 billion spent, including cash advances
• The same figure for July 2009 was at $19.159 billion and August 2008 was 9.2 per cent higher
• Increase of 3,000 in new credit cards and charge accounts in August
• The average credit cards balance was at $3,131, which is 0.1 per cent higher than August 2008
• 3.916 million less actual purchases using credit cards
• $17.947 billion - value of all credit card transactions, which is down 1.48 per cent from July
• Balances outstanding on credit cards and charge card balances climbed to $44.937 billion, an increase of 0.8 per cent, and an increase of 2.06 per cent over twelve months from August 2008
• Cash advances charged on credit cards or charge cards declined by 3.16 per cent in the frequency, with the actual value declining by 2.65 per cent, making the total amount charged in August being $918 million.
• Credit card repayments showed a decline in the number of repayments made, but the repayments themselves were of a higher amount, with the total credit cards repayments for the twelve months to August increasingly by 4.26 per cent

EFTPOS

• The value of all EFTPOS transactions completed in August 2009 was at $11.882 billion, which is 2.15 per cent higher than July 2009 at $11.632 billion
• The August 2009 figure is also a full 7 per cent higher than one year before, indicating the overall trend that many Australians are opting for EFTPOS as one of the preferred options for transactions

Debit Cards

• Showing some of the biggest increases in the entire report, debit cards reported a massive 13.8 per cent rise in the number of purchases made with debit cards from July to August 2009

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