Spending on dining rises by more than 8% following Dry January rebound
The monthly decline in Total Card Payments was predominately driven by a reduction in Domestic Card Payments, with their value falling by 4.4%
Suppressed demand underpinned by Dry January led to a significant rebound in restaurant and dining spending in February, latest figures from the Central Bank of Ireland show.
Publishing its monthly card payment statistics on Wednesday, the Central Bank said spending on restaurants and dining rose by 8.5% in February.
The regulator also noted a potential Dry January effect which contributed to suppressed spending, with a significant rebound in the following month leading to spending in drinking places rising by more than 18%.
The value of total card payments in February amounted to €8.1bn, down by 4% compared to the previous month. Similarly, the volume of card transactions fell by a modest 0.4%, amounting to 205.8m.
The monthly decline in total card payments was predominately driven by a reduction in domestic card payments, with their value falling by 4.4%.
The value of point of sale transactions rose slightly in the month, increasing by 0.85%, with the value of online payments falling significantly by more than 9%.
In February, card spending declined in several sectors such as Retail (-3.8%), Services (-7.1%) and Other (-21%), with Social being the outlier increasing by 4.1%.
