Credit Card Christmas: More Kiwis Putting This Year On Plastic, Survey Reveals

Many more people will turn to their credit card to pay for Christmas this year, a new survey of 1,020 Kiwi adults reveals.

Banked’s Christmas Spending Survey 2023 found that over a third (34%) of New Zealanders will use a credit card as the main way they will pay for Christmas 2023 — up 14% from 20% last year.

The report also found that while stress related to the cost of Christmas has dropped overall this year, most women and Gen Z Kiwis are still feeling the strain.

Fifty-seven percent of women reported either a little or very stressed about the upcoming cost of Christmas, compared with 38% of men. With 55% of Gen Z feeling the same, they are the generation most likely to feel money-related stress this year.

• 34% will use a credit card as their main way of paying for Christmas — a 14% increase from last year.
• The majority of women and young people feel stressed about the cost of Christmas.
• A third of people expect to spend more on festivities this year.

“We’re seeing an overall drop in stress levels from last year, with 48% of Kiwis reporting some level of stress compared with 60% last year. But many people are still feeling anxious about extra expense involved with the festive period and will be turning to credit cards to cope,” says Kevin McHugh, Head of Publishing at Banked.

“A cost of living crisis has been putting people under financial pressure for a while now. Our survey shows that fewer people are now able to rely on the money they’ve saved to pay for Christmas and that credit cards are picking up that shortfall

“A credit card can be a useful financial tool, but it can also be a trap if not used wisely. Overspending on plastic at Christmas can result in debt that lasts well into the next year, resulting in even more financial pressure.

“There is an expectation to splash out over the Christmas period, but good advice is to spend within your means as much as possible and avoid the debt and interest payments that come with credit card overspending,” says McHugh.

Last year, 56% of Kiwis said that money saved would be the main way they would pay for Christmas. That figure drops to 41% this year.