New Zealand’s card payments market to rebound 10.3% in 2021

The market is expected to top $83.2b in four years’ time.

New Zealand’s card payments market is expected to rebound in 2021 with a 10.3% growth, reversing the 11.8% decline registered in 2020, according to GlobalData’s Payment Cards Analytics.

Gradual recovery in economic conditions and rise in consumer spending will push the card payments market to $62.6b (NZD87.0b) in 2021. 

This is anticipated to further rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.4% and reach $83.2b (NZD115.6b) in 2025.

“Although the COVID-19 outbreak impacted the overall card payments market, the gradual rise in consumer spending along with rising preference for digital payments will help country’s card market rebound and continue its growth trajectory for the next few years,” says Nikhil Reddy, payments senior analyst at GlobalData.

The usage of contactless cards has been witnessing a gradual rise among Kiwi consumers, and is expected to support card payments’ growth, according to GlobalData. 

According to Payments NZ--a governance organization which manages payment and clearing systems in the nation--there was a 62% rise in contactless card transactions between 2018 and 2020, with contactless payments share of card payments increasing from 24% in 2018 to 27% in 2019 to 39% in 2020. 

The raising of the limit for contactless payment from NZD80 ($57.55) to NZD200 ($143.88) in April last year is also pushing uptake of contactless payment platforms.