Cyprus card payments up 12% in April, after year-earlier slump

Card payments made by Cyprus residents increased by 12% in April, compared to a year earlier, and reached €168.5 mln, but the rise should not be considered an indication of a strong recovery of consumer spending.

The bank-owned JCC Payments Systems said the high increase is attributed to the fact that transactions in the same period last year were affected by the financial crisis, the bail-in of uninsured deposits and – capital controls.

The card payment clearing house said there was an increase in payments in clothing, shoes and accessories stores, supermarkets, household stores, restaurants, bars and catering, while a decrease affected the government sector.

The use of cards in Cyprus was up by 7% in the four-month period of January to April, reaching €729.3 mln, compared with the same period in 2013.

Payments made by Cyprus residents abroad in April went up by 2%, to €91.3 mln, but there was a decrease of 20% from January to April, compared with the same period last year, with transactions reaching €368.1 mln.

Payments by foreign card holders in Cyprus increased by 23% in April and reached €44.4 mln, whereas there was an increase of 19% in the first four months of the year, with transactions reaching €129 mln.