Contactless transactions were minimal during Level 5 restrictions

The Banking and Payments Federation has recently released the figures related to the impact of Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions on consumer spending.

ATM usage and card spending were significantly dropped in October because of the shutdown of certain retail outlets.

Meanwhile there was a boom in the online shopping. Many consumers started buying Irish products itself and thereby a rise was recorded with the number of local businesses through websites.

It is assumed that the consumers will spend around €6 billion for shopping during the Christmas period. But this €6 billion business won’t make up for the losses that the industries went through over the level 5 restriction period, said Retail Excellence Ireland.

As per the figures of the Banking and Payments Federation regarding the usage of contactless payments for October reveals that they have dropped significantly since June.

Before this, there were about two million contactless transactions each day. Even now, people still spent €28 million using the banks card every day during the month.

The federation’s figures reveal that in the two days leading up to the restrictions imposed in October, costs increased by 22% as consumers prepared for the lockdown. Later it got reduced.