FICO Data: Irish Cardholders Are Charging More and Paying More Promptly

The healthy signs on the UKI economy continue with the latest figures from the FICO® Benchmarking Service. Average total sales on cards issued in Ireland reached a two-year high in September of €778 per card, an increase of 9 percent compared with September 2013.

Veteran accounts (those five or more years old) had the highest average, at €791 per card. The ratio of monthly payment to balance reached 45 percent, also a two-year high. In another positive sign, the percentage of accounts that have missed two consecutive monthly payments fell to a two-year low.

Although card spending is rising, interest income per account is dropping. For veteran accounts, interest income has fallen by 5 percent in each of the last two years. For the full set of active cards in the FICO consortium, this represents €2 per account in lost revenue for issuers.

The card performance figures are part of the data shared with subscribers of the FICO® Benchmark Reporting Service, which compares overall market performance in the UK cards market with individual card issuers’ performance. For information on the FICO Benchmark Reporting Service, contact Stacey West at staceywest@fico.com.