The Ritz Herald
© Scott Olson
Business and Money

Aggregated Bank of America Credit and Debit Card Spending Continues to Increase


While consumer sentiment has weakened, household balance sheets remain in good shape

Published on July 07, 2022

The Bank of America Institute published a new article today which shows consumer spending continues to demonstrate some signs of resiliency despite a backdrop of rising inflation. Total aggregated Bank of America credit and debit card spending was up 11% year over year in June, compared to 13% and 9% in April and May year over year respectively. Spending growth per household increased 3.3% year over year in the 28 days prior to June 30. Gas prices continue to squeeze consumers but spending on services such as travel and entertainment is still boosted by pent-up demand. The labor market remains supportive of consumers, and their balance sheets are in good shape.

Highlights of the publication:

  • Aggregated Bank of America credit and debit card spending was up 11% in June year-over-year; within this, credit card spending rose by 16% year over year, while debit card spending increased by 6% year over year
  • Aggregated Bank of America credit and debit card spending growth per household has been slowing, up 3.3% year over year in the 28 days prior to June 30, lagging broader economic indicators such as the Consumer Price Index and Personal
  • Consumption Expenditure. Some of this slowdown may be due to the waning of the boost from pent-up demand for vacations.
  • Average gas spending as a share of total card spending per household rose to 9.8% in June for lower-income households (<$50k per year), up from 7.7% in February.
  • Looking at total card spending excluding gas and grocery, the year-over-year growth rate for lower-income households contracted 1.0% year over year; for higher-income households, growth excluding gas and grocery remained positive but is on a downward trend.

“Consumers are in better shape to respond to a slowdown in the U.S. economy than they have been in many previous business cycles,” said David Tinsley, senior economist for the Bank of America Institute. “But with some slowdown in services spending, we may need to wait until the summer is over to get a clearer picture of the strength of the underlying consumer momentum.”

Finance Reporter