New Zealand’s card payments market is projected to grow 6.5 per cent to $102.4 billion by the end of 2023, according to GlobalData’s Payment Cards Analytics.

The increase, driven by economic rebound and rising consumer preference, will follow the 6.6 per cent growth in 2022 and 1 per cent growth in 2021. The market saw a 10.5 per cent drop in 2020 due to the pandemic and economic recession.

Credit and charge cards are favoured over debit cards, accounting for 53.7 per cent in total card payments this year.

“The payment card market in New Zealand is mature, with individuals on average owning more than three cards. The frequency of card payments remains notably high at 92.7 in 2022,” said Ravi Sharma, lead banking and payments analyst at GlobalData.

With economic recovery, rising consumer spending, increased contactless adoption and government support, Sharma expects card payment in the country to achieve a CAGR of 4.1 per cent during 2023-27 and hit $120.2 billion in 2027.

In November last year, New Zealand enacted a new legislation to drive card acceptance among merchants, with interchange fees cap lowered to 0.8 per cent for credit card transactions and between 0.2 and 0.6 per cent for debit card transactions.

• Further reading: Card fee cut saves businesses $105 million annually