Saudi Card Spending Stays Above USD 3 Billion

Card spending in Saudi Arabia remained above USD 3 billion in the week ending July 25th, despite declining 5.8% week on week to SAR 12.26 billion (USD 3.27 billion), according to the Saudi Central Bank.

The total number of transactions also fell 4.5% to 226.16 million, down from 236.70 million the previous week.

Education was the only spending category to record growth, rising 6.2% to SAR 104.7 million, although the number of transactions in the segment declined 6.4%. Jewellery posted the steepest decline, with spending falling 16.2% to SAR 346.8 million, while transaction volumes dropped 11.1%. Spending on personal care, laundry services and public utilities and services also declined, while hotels and the trade of vehicles and spare parts recorded comparatively smaller decreases.

Food and beverages remained the largest spending category despite a 5.9% decline to SAR 1.91 billion. Restaurants and cafés followed with SAR 1.64 billion, down 4.5%, while apparel, clothing and accessories ranked third, declining 7.4% to SAR 964.3 million.

Amongst major cities, Riyadh recorded the highest transaction value at SAR 4.16 billion, down 4.7% from the previous week. Jeddah followed with SAR 1.73 billion, while spending in Dammam declined to SAR 578.9 million. Makkah recorded the steepest weekly decline among the major cities, with transaction values falling 7.4% to SAR 497.5 million, according to the Saudi Central Bank's weekly data.