Israelis increasingly prefer to pay with credit cards, not cash

Credit card spending in Israel has grown in recent months, with a 7.2% jump in May 2023 in comparison to May 2022, according to data from Sheba Automated Bank Services.

According to the data, total expenses amounted to NIS 40.942 billion, a marked increase of 9.2% compared to April. In addition, the average daily expenditure in May stood at NIS 1.321 billion and grew by 9.2% compared to April 2023. 

A 7.7% increase was recorded just for online transactions and reached a new record of NIS 23.944 billion in one month.

How much did people spend on credit cards in May?

Sheba's VP Tali Hollenberg said that in May, the Israeli economy returned to the growing trend of using credit cards instead of cash and checks.

According to data from Sheba, which manages a national credit card payment system, in May 2023 spending on credit cards totaled 40.942 billion shekels, an increase of 7.2% over May 2022 which amounted to 38.201 billion shekels.

May is the second month this year in which credit card spending passed NIS 40 billion.

Daily spending on credit cards in May 2023 totaled NIS 1.321 billion, an increase of more than NIS 130 million and 9.2% compared to April 2023, when daily spending was NIS 1.191 billion. 

The record amount in average daily spending on credit cards was recorded in March 2023 at NIS 1.331 billion.