Paying Up

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What's going on?

Fresh credit card data out on Tuesday showed that British consumers upped their spending in August, shelling out for new clothes and staycations.

What does this mean?

Barclaycard which generated just under 30% of banking group Barclays total revenue last year provides a quarter of the UKs credit cards. Its therefore got a pretty good idea of whos spending what and where; and the companys combined transaction records and research indicate British consumer spending last month was 0.2% higher than the same time last year. Sure, thats small but as the first increase since pandemic-induced lockdowns began in March, it could foretell a recovering economy.




According to Barclaycard, particularly perky purchases included home-working equipment and pukka clobber. Refreshed wardrobes may have let Brits take full advantage of the UKs discount scheme to get people back into restaurants, where spending also rose compared to last August. The rest of the hospitality industry wasnt so fortunate, however: travel expenditure fell 61%.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: No cash please, were British.



Reduced use of germ-carrying cash in response to coronavirus may have helped credit and debit card spending grow somewhat but its star has been waning for a while. Analysts forecast that by 2028 just 9% of UK transactions will involve cash, even as banknote production continues to rise in both Britain and the US. Investors know which way the wind is blowing, however: payments firm Squares stock has soared 280% since March, PayPals shares have almost doubled, and Ant Financials forthcoming stock listing might be the largest ever.





For markets: Sailing over a cardboard sea.



The surge of online shopping in recent months gaveth and tooketh away from UK logistics giant Royal Mail. It said on Tuesday that having more packages to deliver would boost its annual revenue but that coronavirus disruptions and an ongoing struggle to adapt to life after letters meant itd still make a loss this year.

Originally posted as part of the Finimize daily email.

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