How Ireland pays: card spending at Christmas, online and contactless

Central Bank of Ireland card statistics show what Irish households spend on their cards each month, how much goes online, and how December stands out. Figures run to August 2026.

At Christmas, Irish people go back to the shops. In December 2025, card spending in physical shops, pubs and restaurants jumped 24% on November, while online card spending rose less than 5%. The online share of spending dipped in December, then reached its highest level in these figures, which start in October 2025, in January 2026.

These figures come from the Central Bank of Ireland's monthly card payment statistics. They cover only credit and debit cards issued to Irish resident households.

December is the peak month

Total card spending reached €11.20 billion in December 2025. That was 12.8% more than in November and 11% more than in December 2024. In January 2026 it fell back to €9.35 billion.

The December peak has grown each year since 2023. Card spending was €10.09 billion in December 2024, up 13.8% on December 2023. The Central Bank linked the rise to "seasonal spending over the Christmas period".

Shops, pubs and restaurants gain most

In-person spending, which the Central Bank calls point of sale or POS, jumped 24.2% in December 2025 to €5.09 billion. Online card spending in Ireland rose 4.8% to €4.34 billion. The Central Bank pointed to people "visiting physical stores for Christmas purchases".

Spending in drinking places reached €276.63 million in December 2025. Restaurants and dining took €953.13 million, up 8.3% on December 2024. Card gifts to charity rose almost 30% in the month, to €35.74 million.

Online is close to half of what we spend in Ireland

Online, or "remote", card payments include shopping websites but also bills, subscriptions and financial services. In most months they are close to half of all domestic card spending. In January 2026, online was €4.15 billion of €7.75 billion, or 53.5%.

Online spending has eased in recent months. In August 2026 it was €3.40 billion, down 8.8% on August 2025. In-person spending rose 9.3% over the same year.

Tap to pay is now the norm

Contactless made up about 68% of in-person card spending in August 2026, up from 64% in October 2025. Mobile wallets, which let you pay with a phone or watch, are growing fast. They took €2.28 billion in December 2025, up 24% on a year earlier.

The shift shows up at Christmas too. Contactless was about 59% of in-person spending in December 2024 and about 64% in December 2025, by our calculation. Online's share of December spending in Ireland also rose, from about 43% to 46%.

Cash is still used, but less. Cash withdrawals in December 2025 were €1.21 billion, down 1.3% on December 2024, even as card spending grew 11%.

After Christmas, January bills and holidays

January brings a sharp change. In January 2026, in-person spending fell 29.3% from December, and grocery spending fell 25.5% to €1.59 billion. The Central Bank linked the grocery drop to elevated Christmas spending the month before.

Other spending rose. Airline spending jumped 71.6% to €260.47 million as people booked holidays. Utility bills rose 2.8% to €242.69 million, and nearly all electricity, gas and water payments were made online.

• Cards in circulation: 9.94 million in December 2025, up 4.35% in a year
• 84% of these are debit cards and 16% are credit cards
• Spending abroad and on foreign websites: €1.77 billion in December 2025, up 9.4% in a year
• Average domestic card payment: €41.49 in December 2025, up 3.6% on November
• November 2025 spending reached €9.93 billion; the Central Bank linked a rise at clothing shops to promotions such as Black Friday

Where the money goes

For the whole of 2024, Irish household cards were used for €102.62 billion of spending. Retail took €44.63 billion, of which groceries were €19.31 billion. Services took €41.54 billion, half of it financial services.