Australians Spend Less on Charge And Credit Cards In August

Post by NeilMc on October 15, 2009 · Under Australian Economy, Business News, banking, credit cards · Comment

Australians spent less on credit and charge cards in the month of August, with the total value of transactions declining by 1.53 per cent, according to new data released by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

$18.865 billion was spent by Australians on charge and credit cards in August, down from $19.159 billion in the previous month. Credit card repayments in August also fell by 4.57 per cent according to the central bank’s data.

Total credit and charge card balances outstanding rose by 0.8 per cent to $44.937 billion, from $44.568 billion. Balances accruing interest fell to $32.482 billion in August, from $32.750 billion the previous month.

The total value of credit and charge card purchases declined by 1.49 per cent, whilst the value of cash advances on charge and credit cards also decreased by 2.65 per cent.

There were 3.916 million fewer purchases made with charge and credit cards in August compared with July, whilst the number of charge and credit card accounts increased by 3000.

Total credit and charge card balances outstanding had risen by 2.06 per cent over the year to August. Total credit card repayments rose by 4.26 per cent over the year.

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