Car transactions drop
Slight monthly decreases in vehicle and fuel spending on electronic cards.
Posted on 17 March, 2026
Spending on motor vehicles using electronic cards dropped by $900,000, or 0.5 per cent, last month when compared to January 2026.
Kiwis’ transactions on fuel also decreased over the same period – by 1.2 per cent and $5.6 million, reports Stats NZ.
Overall spending in the retail industries, however, increased by 1.4 per cent and $95m and climbed by 1.6 per cent and $103m in core retail sectors.
The total value of electronic-card spending rose last month from January by $109m and 1.1 per cent.
In actual terms, cardholders made 168 million transactions across all industries in February with an average value of $55. The total amount spent using electronic cards last month was $9.2 billion.
