New Zealand Credit Card Spending Rebounds
2026-08-16 23:05
By
Chusnul Chotimah
1 min. read
Seasonally adjusted electronic card transactions in New Zealand rose 1.3% month over month in July 2026, recovering from a downwardly revised 1.3% decline in the previous month.
The rebound was driven by a recovery in spending on hospitality (3.2% vs -2.4% in June), durables (2.5% vs -3.8%), and apparel (3.2% vs -2.1%).
Additionally, spending on consumables accelerated (1.0% vs 0.4% in June).
In contrast, fuel spending continued to decline due to the impact of the Middle East conflict (-4.3% vs -1.8%), while motor vehicle spending edged down (-0.1% vs 0.8%).
On an annual basis, total electronic card spending rose 3.3%, following a 1.3% increase in June, marking the fastest increase since at least July 2025.