Bank of Ireland Card Spending up 5.7% in December
The latest Bank of Ireland credit/debit card data show spending was up 5.7% in December, still ahead of CPI inflation at 3.2% (November), indicating real price adjusted spending growth by Irish households. The 2025 Christmas season had consumers out in force with spending in all the main categories up on December of 2024. Spending in the social (+2.8% year-on-year) and services (+5.7%) areas were up more than retail (+1.0%), though spending on electrical goods was up by 6.3%. There were sizable year-on-year increases in spending on health (+9.5%) and education (+10.5%) and unsurprisingly, given the season, spending on entertainment (+2.8%) and on eating and drinking out (+2.5%). For the year 2025 as a whole, spending on Bank of Ireland cards was up 5.3% as consumers appear to be looking beyond the global economic and political uncertainty of the past year and spending more reflects a domestic economy where activity is increasing, real incomes are rising, unemployment is still low and inflation is moderate, likely averaging a little over 2% last year. CSO data shows that consumer spending averaged 2.9% in the first three quarters of 2025 and this card data supports our view that spending will come in close to this level for the year as a whole.
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