Turkish Cypriot card spending up 11.5% in April

Turkish Cypriot plastic card spending in the south rose by 11.5% over the year earlier in April to reach EUR 1.49 mln, compared with EUR 1.33 mln in April 2010.
For the first four months as a whole, spending rose by 13.7% to EUR 5.74 mln, according to our analysis of data produced by JCC Payment Systems on the “use of Turkish credit cards”.
For the whole of 2010, Turkish Cypriot card spending rose by 7.1% to EUR 18.59 mln.
Supermarkets remain the most popular, with spending of EUR 1.31 mln in the first four months of this year, followed by clothing, at EUR 985,415.
Meanwhile, it appears to be the opposite for spending by Greek Cypriots in the north.
“Use of local credit cards in occupied areas and Turkey” fell by 8.6% over the year earlier in April to EUR 806,473.
However, in the first four months of the year, spending inched up by 0.8% to EUR 2.98 mln.
Card spending in the northern part of Cyprus alone reached EUR 1.82 mln in the first four months, or around three times less than spending by Turkish Cypriots.
It is not possible to compare this with the year earlier as in 2010 JCC combined this with spending in Attaleia (Antalya).
The most popular category in the first four months was hotels, at EUR 628,929, followed by entertainment (including casinos, which are banned in the Greek Cypriot south) at EUR 430,853.

Fiona Mullen
Director, Sapienta Economics Ltd