Holiday shopping
Credit union member spending continued to increase in December, ending the holiday season with stronger growth than a year ago, according to a report by the nation’s largest payments CUSO.
The Velera Payments Index released Thursday showed spending by credit card in December was 1.8% higher than a year earlier, while debit spending rose 4.6%. The three-month season spending rose 1.7% by credit and 6.8% by debit.
“Velera’s payment trends reflect strong consumer spending that propped up the overall economy in 2025,” SVP Ryan Myers said.
Myers said Fed rate cuts this year will likely come slowly because jobs are still growing, albeit weakly.
“That means spending should hold up, but it will likely be concentrated among higher-income households — widening the K-shaped economy,” Myers said. “Credit unions need to get comfortable segmenting their members and tailoring products to manage risk without missing out on payment revenue from more affluent consumers.”
The average credit card account balance reached a yearly high of $3,029 on Dec. 31, a modest 0.6% increase from a year earlier. Credit card balance growth throughout 2025 was moderate, rising 2.3% since January compared with the 3.3% pace in 2024. The growth in 2025 lagged the inflation rate of 2.7% for the 12 months ending in December.
The largest contributing factor to the increase in prices was shelter, followed by groceries and energy.
Among Velera’s credit union spenders, credit card spending on groceries rose 2%, while the number of transactions rose 1%. By debit, both spending and transactions fell 1%.
Restaurant spending by credit card rose 2% by both amount and number of transactions. By debit, spending rose 2% and transactions rose 1%.
Gasoline showed the effect of falling prices. Spending fell 3% by credit card, while the number of transactions was essentially unchanged. By debit, spending showed no change, while transactions rose 2%. The national average price per gallon of gasoline was $2.78 for the week ending Jan. 12, down 8.7% from a year earlier.
Average credit card account balances closed out December 2025 at a yearly high of $3,029, a modest 0.6% (or $18) increase year over year. Credit card balance growth throughout 2025 was moderate, rising 2.3% since January compared with the 3.3% pace in 2024.
Total credit card balance growth was essentially flat, down 0.04% over the 12 months ending Dec. 31.
“Since June, the growth rate for total balances has averaged 0.1%, compared with the 2.4% average recorded from January through May. Taken together, these trends suggest a more measured approach to spending on credit,” the report said.
Velera’s report also addressed Trump’s Jan. 9 proposal to cap interest rates on credit cards at 10% starting Jan. 20 and extending for one year.
“No additional details were provided on how the cap would work,” the report said. “There is much ambiguity surrounding this proposal, as we believe a credit card cap would require approval from Congress and no additional details on how this could be effectively implemented by Jan. 20 have been provided by the administration.”
Velera bases its Payments Index on data from credit unions that have been processing payments with it since January 2023. This month’s report encompassed 3.6 billion transactions valued at $181 billion of credit and debit card activity in the 12 months ending Dec. 31.
Contact Jim DuPlessis at Jim.DuPlessis@arc-network.com.
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