As gasoline prices spiked after the United States and Israel attacked Iran Feb. 28, U.S. consumers reacted last month by keeping their tanks full.
A report released Monday by Velera, the nation's largest payments CUSO, found spending by debit and credit cards was strong for the third month in a row in March.

The Census Bureau on Tuesday reported that unadjusted retail spending, excluding automobiles and parts, rose 6.3% in March from a year earlier, nearly twice the 3.3% rate of inflation. Among credit union members whose cards are managed by Velera, spending rose 4.8% by credit and rose 5.9% by debit.

Velera spending growth varied somewhat from the nation by sector:

  • Grocery store spending rose 0.3% in March from a year earlier, Census reported. At Velera, spending rose 2% by credit and was flat by debit.
  • Restaurant spending rose 1.6% in March from a year earlier, Census reported. At Velera, spending rose 2% by credit and rose 2% by debit.
  • Gasoline spending rose 18.3% in March from a year earlier, Census reported. At Velera, spending rose 18% by credit and rose 14% by debit.

"Consumers are still showing up and spending, even with many factors weighing on how they feel about the economy," Denise Stevens, Velera's chief product and technology officer, said.

"Surging gas prices, elevated inflation and overall uncertainty have not stopped spending activity – but they are changing behavior," Stevens said. "We're seeing consumers be more intentional about how they pay and spend."

Stevens said one way of being more intentional is greater use of digital wallets and turning Buy Now, Pay Later into a mainstream budgeting tool, "not just a checkout convenience."

Inflation increased in March at its highest rate in two years with gasoline accounting for three-quarters of the increase.

In this month's Payment Index, Velera's "Deep Dive" was into gasoline sales, which it found accounted for roughly 15% of the growth in debit and credit purchases for March. Gasoline stood at $4.12 per gallon at publication, up 40%, or $1.19, since the war started Feb. 28 and is up 30%, or $0.96, year over year.

Despite the higher prices, "Our data shows increased gasoline consumption in the weeks since the war began," the report said. "Consumers appear to be purchasing more gallons and making more transactions than in March 2025, at least in the short term."

Consumers typically use tax refunds to help pay down debt, which tends to peak in January following the holidays. IRS data showed the average tax refund is up 11% (or $350) from last year, reaching $3,521 as of late March.

Balance data and delinquency rates reflected the data:

  • The delinquency rate fell from 2.73% in January to 2.49% in March, but the March rate was up 18 basis points from a year earlier.
  • In March, the average balance among gross active accounts was $2,930, down 0.7% from a year earlier.
  • Total credit card balances fell 1.5% from a year earlier.

Velera started its Payment Index reports in March 2020 to help credit unions keep track of spending during the unprecedented upheaval from COVID-19, which was declared a pandemic that month.

Velera bases its Payments Index on data from credit unions that have been processing payments with it since January 2024. This month's report encompassed 3.7 billion transactions valued at $186 billion of credit and debit card activity in the 12 months ending March 31.

Contact Jim DuPlessis at Jim.DuPlessis@arc-network.com.

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