JUST OVER 10% of card spending by Bank of Ireland customers was from cash withdrawals, down from nearly a third of transactions before the pandemic, new figures from the bank have shown.

According to the bank’s consumer spending trends for January, ATM withdrawals decreased in the month by 2% year-on-year, now accounting for just 12% of total card spending.

Meanwhile, BOI figures show that household spending was up 6.1% in January compared to the same time last year. This was driven in part by a 23% increase in what the bank called “spending on sports clubs”.

Year-on-year spending on hotels and resorts (likely linked to future holidays) increased by 4.9% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, clothing sales were down 5% compared to last year, while electrical goods spending went up by 6.4%

BOI forecast a 3% real growth in consumer spending for 2025. 

With Valentine’s Day just gone, BOI highlighted that generally spending at florists usually rises to five or six times the normal daily average during this period.

However, spending on online dating services has been falling steadily over the past number of years down 17% year-on-year in January and 43% since the peak in 2021.