The electronic card transactions (ECT) series cover debit, credit, and charge card transactions with New Zealand-based merchants. The series can be used to indicate changes in consumer spending and economic activity.
Key facts
All figures are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified.
Values are at the national level and are not adjusted for price changes.
March 2026 month
Changes in the value of electronic card transactions for the March 2026 month (compared with February 2026) were:
- spending in the retail industries increased 0.7 percent ($52 million)
- spending in the core retail industries decreased 0.1 percent ($8.8 million).
| "Month" | "Actual" | "Seasonally adjusted" | "Trend" |
| "Mar-23" | "7194542000" | "7052645000" | "7002857000" |
| "Apr-23" | "6843706000" | "7050519000" | "7024193000" |
| "May-23" | "6731522000" | "6964806000" | "7032020000" |
| "Jun-23" | "6685904000" | "7062567000" | "7039345000" |
| "Jul-23" | "6765373000" | "7047073000" | "7048760000" |
| "Aug-23" | "6754616000" | "7075960000" | "7059755000" |
| "Sep-23" | "6747040000" | "7051517000" | "7054772000" |
| "Oct-23" | "6995276000" | "7019144000" | "7041737000" |
| "Nov-23" | "7499219000" | "7070113000" | "7034011000" |
| "Dec-23" | "8608488000" | "6974378000" | "7026452000" |
| "Jan-24" | "7070281000" | "7063582000" | "7017027000" |
| "Feb-24" | "6724446000" | "6983952000" | "7000805000" |
| "Mar-24" | "7129902000" | "6965787000" | "6971352000" |
| "Apr-24" | "6685214000" | "6946046000" | "6927254000" |
| "May-24" | "6717430000" | "6887493000" | "6874806000" |
| "Jun-24" | "6402501000" | "6801613000" | "6832201000" |
| "Jul-24" | "6474046000" | "6808944000" | "6811647000" |
| "Aug-24" | "6589334000" | "6819975000" | "6818903000" |
| "Sep-24" | "6406495000" | "6836307000" | "6841775000" |
| "Oct-24" | "6943425000" | "6903652000" | "6869235000" |
| "Nov-24" | "7354746000" | "6861848000" | "6900258000" |
| "Dec-24" | "8610063000" | "7074614000" | "6926181000" |
| "Jan-25" | "7077398000" | "6967965000" | "6932741000" |
| "Feb-25" | "6455973000" | "6943241000" | "6914355000" |
| "Mar-25" | "6960175000" | "6840198000" | "6881277000" |
| "Apr-25" | "6614880000" | "6848271000" | "6851161000" |
| "May-25" | "6710150000" | "6842549000" | "6848327000" |
| "Jun-25" | "6382551000" | "6875121000" | "6868773000" |
| "Jul-25" | "6581483000" | "6888240000" | "6890082000" |
| "Aug-25" | "6647876000" | "6932561000" | "6906557000" |
| "Sep-25" | "6471156000" | "6905741000" | "6929746000" |
| "Oct-25" | "7000400000" | "6925576000" | "6952014000" |
| "Nov-25" | "7475835000" | "7013906000" | "6968217000" |
| "Dec-25" | "8563854000" | "7004421000" | "6981204000" |
| "Jan-26" | "7103210000" | "6932101000" | "6997356000" |
| "Feb-26" | "6552600000" | "7032315000" | "7022431000" |
| "Mar-26" | "7148729000" | "7083861000" | "7059752000" |
By retail spending category, movements were:
- fuel, up $81 million (17.3 percent)
- consumables, up $31 million (1.1 percent)
- durables, up $19 million (1.2 percent)
- motor vehicles (excluding fuel), up $3.7 million (1.9 percent)
- apparel, down $14 million (4.2 percent)
- hospitality, down $37 million (2.4 percent).
| "Industry (ANZSIC06)" | "%" |
| "Consumables" | " 1.1" |
| "Durables" | " 1.2" |
| "Hospitality" | "-2.4" |
| "Apparel" | "-4.2" |
| "Motor vehicles excl. fuel" | " 1.9" |
| "Fuel" | "17.3" |
| "Non-retail excl. services" | " 2.5" |
| "Services" | " 0.1" |
Note, the seasonally adjusted series are adjusted independently of each other; therefore, the sum of the component categories may differ to the total.
The non-retail (excluding services) category increased by $58 million (2.5 percent) from February 2026. This category includes medical and other health care, travel and tour arrangement, postal and courier delivery, and other non-retail industries.
The services category was up $0.5 million (0.1 percent). This category includes repair and maintenance, and personal care, funeral, and other personal services.
The total value of electronic card spending, including the two non-retail categories (services and other non-retail), increased from February 2026, up $124 million (1.3 percent).
In actual terms, cardholders made 182 million transactions across all industries in March 2026, with an average value of $55 per transaction. The total amount spent using electronic cards was $10 billion.
March 2026 quarter
Changes in the seasonally adjusted value of retail electronic card transactions for the March 2026 quarter (compared with the December 2025 quarter) were:
- spending in the retail industries increased $199 million (1.0 percent)
- spending in the core retail industries increased $194 million (1.0 percent).
By spending category, the movements were:
- consumables, up $41 million (0.5 percent)
- fuel, up $14 million (0.9 percent)
- hospitality, up $29 million (0.7 percent)
- durables, up $12 million (0.3 percent)
- motor vehicles (excluding fuel), up $2.8 million (0.5 percent)
- apparel, down $3.6 million (0.4 percent).
The non-retail (excluding services) category was up $23 million (0.3 percent) and the services category was up $9.1 million (0.8 percent).
The total value of electronic card spending, including the two non-retail categories (services and other non-retail) increased by $114 million (0.4 percent) compared with the December 2025 quarter.
About the data
ECT figures are based on aggregated administrative data generated in the process of administering New Zealand-based electronic transactions.
Stats NZ does not control how data providers classify their merchants, and we are unable to see which merchants sit within each industry.
Some transactions cannot be categorised by data providers and are therefore excluded from ECT results.
The ECT figures reflect the data provided, which can change over time. For example, when merchants switch to data providers not covered by Stats NZ, coverage may shift and reported totals may change.
More data
Use Infoshare to access the electronic card transactions time series:
Subject category: Economic indicators
Group: Electronic card transactions (ANZSIC06) - ECT
Definitions and metadata
Electronic card transactions data collection methodology - DataInfo+ gives general methodology used to produce electronic card transaction statistics.
Electronic card transactions concepts - DataInfo+ gives definitions of terms used in this release.
Technical enquiries
Leo Zhang
[email protected]
04 931 4600
ISSN 1178-0258
Next release
Electronic card transactions: April 2026 will be released on 19 May 2026.
