Electronic Card Transactions: April 2016
Embargoed until 10:45am – 10 May 2016

Key facts
Changes in the seasonally adjusted value of transactions for April 2016 (compared with March 2016)
were:
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Total electronic card transactions rose 1.5 percent.
Transactions in the retail industries rose 0.9 percent.
Transactions in the core retail industries rose 0.4 percent.

Liz MacPherson, Government Statistician
ISSN 1178-0258
10 May 2016

 Commentary
All figures are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified.
Values are only available at the national level, and are not adjusted for price changes.
The value of electronic card spending in the retail industries was up 0.9 percent in April 2016,
following a 0.1 percent rise in March 2016.
Five of the six retail industries had increases in April 2016. The biggest increase was from
the hospitality industry, up $13 million (1.5 percent), while the consumables industry remained
relatively unchanged.

The total value of electronic card spending, including the two non-retail industries (services, and
other non-retail), was up 1.5 percent in April. This follows a rise of 0.5 percent in March 2016.
The non-retailing industries were the main driver of the increase in the total ECT series for April
2016.
The timing of Easter may have contributed to the movements in the total ECT series in March
and April. Easter generally falls in April but occasionally occurs in March, as it did this year. The
effect of this timing was most apparent in the non-retail and the services sectors of electronic
card transactions. It is not possible to quantify the impact of the holiday timing on card
transaction statistics.
Core retail spending (which excludes the vehicle-related industries) rose 0.4 percent in April
2016, after a 0.2 percent rise in March.

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 Trends for the total, retail, and core retail series have generally been rising since these series
began in October 2002.
In actual terms, card-holders made 131 million transactions across all industries in April 2016,
with an average value of $49. The total amount spent across all transactions was $6.4 billion.
For more detailed data see the Excel tables in the 'Downloads' box.

Imputation of missing data
As outlined in Electronic Card Transactions: January 2016, Statistics NZ has imputed for some
missing data for the durables industry. As we are still unable to source this missing data, we will
continue to impute for this data until a supplier is confirmed.

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 Definitions
About Electronic Card Transactions
Electronic Card Transactions (ECT) is a monthly series that covers all debit, credit, and charge
card transactions with New Zealand-based merchants. This information can be used as an
indicator of the change in the level of consumption expenditure and economic activity in general.
Statistics NZ would like to acknowledge the cooperation of the private sector in providing the
data for publication.

More definitions
ANZSIC: Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification.
Average number of transactions per person: the total number of transactions divided by the
sum of the average resident population and the average number of overseas visitors to New
Zealand for the reference year.
Average transaction value: the total value of transactions divided by the total number of
transactions.
Average value of transactions per person: the total value of transactions divided by the sum
of the average resident population and the average number of overseas visitors to New Zealand
for the reference year.
Card-not-present transactions: purchases made using a credit card, via telephone, mail order,
Internet, or credit card direct debit where the card is not present for the transaction.
Cash out: cash taken out at a point-of-sale terminal, with or without a purchase.
Core retail series: includes consumables, durables, hospitality, and apparel industry groups.
See Data quality for detailed industry descriptions.
Debit card: card used for debiting money directly from a bank account. Also commonly referred
to as eftpos, cash, or ATM card.
Debit transactions: where the purchaser uses the cheque or savings buttons on the point-ofsale terminal.
Eftpos: electronic funds transfer at point of sale.
Retail series: includes the core retail series plus the motor vehicles and fuel industry groups.
See Data quality for detailed industry descriptions.
Share of spending by electronic card transactions: proportion of total spending that debit and
credit card spending makes up. This figure can be approximated by dividing the value of retail
electronic card transactions (excluding GST) by total retail sales, as estimated from the Retail
Trade Survey.

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 Related links
Next release
Electronic Card Transactions: May 2016 will be released on 10 June 2016.
Subscribe to information releases, including this one, by completing the online subscription form.
The release calendar lists all information releases by date of release.

Past releases
Electronic Card Transactions has links to past releases.

Information about methodology and definitions – DataInfo+
Electronic Card Transactions data collection methodology – DataInfo+
General methodology used to produce electronic card transaction statistics.
Electronic Card Transactions definitions – DataInfo+
Definitions of terms used in this release.

Related information
The latest movements in related series were as follows:




The food price index rose 0.5 percent in March 2016, compared with February 2016.
The consumers price index rose 0.2 percent in the March 2016 quarter, compared with
the December 2015 quarter.
Credit card billings in New Zealand, as published by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand,
were up 4.1 percent in March 2016, compared with March 2015.

Principles and protocols for producers of Tier 1 statistics
Statistics in this release have been produced in accordance with the Official Statistics System
principles and protocols for producers of Tier 1 statistics for quality. They conform to the
Statistics NZ Methodological Standard for Reporting of Data Quality.

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 Data quality
This section contains information that does not change between releases.
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Data source
Industry group descriptions
Interpreting the data
Differences between the ECT series and the Retail Trade Survey

Data source
We produce statistics on electronic card transactions from aggregated administrative data
generated in the process of administering New Zealand-based electronic transactions. The data
are supplied in a highly aggregated form and include goods and services tax (GST).

Industry group descriptions
The table below describes the eight aggregated industry groups commonly referred to in the
Electronic Card Transactions (ECT) information release text.
Aggregated industry groups in ECT releases
Industry group

Descriptor

Consumables

Includes food and liquor retailing

Durables

Includes furniture, hardware, and appliance retailing; pharmacy,
cosmetic, and toiletry retailing

Hospitality

Includes accommodation, bars, cafes and restaurants, and takeaway
retailing

Apparel

Includes clothing, soft-goods, and footwear retailing

Motor vehicles

Includes automotive parts and accessories; vehicle and tyre retailing

Fuel

Automotive fuel retailing

Services

Includes personal and household services, including hire and repair;
automotive electrical and repair services

Non-retail (excluding
Includes travel and health, and wholesaling
services)
Note: The core retail series comprises the consumables, durables, hospitality, and apparel industry groups. The retail series comprises the core
retail series plus the motor vehicles and fuel industry groups.

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 Interpreting the data
Coverage
The ECT series includes:
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



all debit, credit, and charge card transactions with New Zealand-based merchants
card-present transactions at the point of sale, whether authorised by PIN or signature
card-not-present transactions (eg payments of invoices; mail order, telephone, and
Internet sales via credit card; or direct debit from credit cards) where the card is not
presented directly at a point-of-sale terminal
GST.

The ECT series excludes:
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
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all credit card transactions with non-New Zealand-based merchants (eg via the Internet,
telephone, or mail order)
transactions by New Zealand card-holders while overseas
cash, cheque, or hire purchase transactions
automatic payments or direct debits from bank accounts
Internet bank account payments
withdrawals from ATMs.

Note:



One of the respondent companies includes cash-out data, but the other excludes them.
One of the respondent companies includes manual, voucher-based credit card
transactions, but the other excludes them.

Published levels
We publish data at three levels of aggregation. These are:
1. Electronic card transactions – total


Includes data for all industry classes; a census of all electronic transactions.

2. Electronic card transactions – retail industries


A subset of total electronic card transactions covering these ANZSIC06 industries: retail
trade (ANZSIC division G) and accommodation and food services (ANZSIC division H).

3. Electronic card transactions – core retail industries


A subset of retail electronic card transactions, excluding the motor vehicle-related
industries (ANZSIC groups G1110 motor vehicles and parts retailing and G1120 fuel
retailing). Motor vehicles and parts generally have low rates of electronic transactions.

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 We publish the following series for each aggregation:



values – actual (unadjusted), seasonally adjusted, and trend
volumes – actual (unadjusted).

Electronic card transactions share of spending
The share of electronic card transactions in the core retail industries has generally been
increasing over time. We estimated the share of the core retail spending (excluding GST) in the
December 2015 quarter at 69.3 percent, compared with 68.1 percent in December 2014, and
68.2 percent in December 2013.

Seasonally adjusted series
We use the X-13ARIMA-SEATS package to produce the seasonally adjusted estimates and
trend estimates for the three series: total, retail, and core retail ECT. Seasonal adjustment aims
to eliminate the impact of regular seasonal events (such as annual cycles in agricultural
production, winter, or annual holidays) on time series. This makes the data for adjacent months
more comparable.
We subject all seasonally adjusted figures to revision each month. This enables the seasonal
component to be better estimated and removed from the series.
Estimated trend
For any series, we can break the survey estimates down into three components: trend, seasonal,
and irregular. We have removed the seasonal component from the seasonally adjusted series,
and we have removed both the seasonal and the irregular components from the trend series.
Trend estimates reveal the underlying direction of movement in a series, and are likely to
indicate turning points more accurately than seasonally adjusted estimates.

8

 We calculate the trend series using the X-13ARIMA-SEATS seasonal adjustment package. They
are based on an 11-, 13-, or 23-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted series, with an
adjustment for outlying values.
Trend estimates towards the end of the series incorporate new data as they become available
and can therefore change as more observations are added to the series. Revisions can be
particularly large if an observation is treated as an outlier in one month, but is found to be part of
the underlying trend as further observations are added to the series. Typically, only the estimates
for the most recent month are subject to substantial revisions.
Seasonal patterns
The three unadjusted series (for the value of total, retail, and core retail electronic card
transactions) have similar seasonal patterns, peaking in December each year.

The three ECT series for the number of total, retail, and core retail electronic card transactions
have similar patterns to those for the transaction values, peaking each December.

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 Impact of electronic card transaction processing outages
Occasionally, processing outages prevent customers from being able to make transactions at the
point of sale. Where these are significant in extent and duration, they can affect the published
results for the ECT series. The last significant outage was in December 2005.

Differences between the ECT series and the Retail Trade Survey
A significant proportion of spending using debit and credit cards takes place in the retail sector.
The Retail Trade Survey (RTS) also collects sales information about the retail sector from a
sample of retail establishments. Given the similarities in coverage of the two series, it is
expected they may be comparable. However, users should be aware that there are a number of
differences between the two series that affect comparison between them. We describe these
differences below.
Coverage
The RTS includes payments made by cash, cheque, and hire purchase, in addition to electronic
card.
Coverage differences between the Electronic Card Transaction series
and the Retail Trade Survey
Electronic Card Transaction series

Cash sale

Credit sale

Debit card

Credit card
Charge card

Retail Trade Survey

Debit card

Credit card

Cash

Charge card

Cheque

Hire purchase

GST
Electronic card transaction data collected include GST, whereas the RTS collects sales
excluding GST. As GST is not separately identified in the data, any attempts to adjust the ECT
series for GST are approximations only.
Timing issues
Several timing differences exist between the ECT series and RTS.
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


Electronic transactions occur instantly at the point of sale, whereas many retailers
operate on an accrual accounting basis (recording a sale before any money has changed
hands).
Instalments on lay-bys may be paid electronically but are not recorded as a sale by the
retailer until the goods are picked up.
Gift vouchers may be purchased electronically but are not recorded as a sale until they
are redeemed.

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 Classification issues
We have developed ECT series that relate to the industry coverage of the RTS. We matched the
industry codes supplied by the respondents to our classifications. There are instances where the
classification allocations used by the respondents differ from ours. This results in some coverage
differences at the industry and overall retail level, and potentially some overstatement of the ECT
retail industry levels. We cannot fully assess the impact of this on ECT retail data levels, as
source data are only supplied in aggregate form, but we estimate retail levels are overstated by
less than 5 percent.
Changes in share of spending by electronic card transactions
Retailers' uptake of electronic transaction technology and consumers' increasing card
usage have led to a greater share of retail sales being made by electronic transactions. This
results in the ECT series having a much steeper trend than the RTS. This increase in share is
slowing over time, particularly in industries where the technology is approaching full coverage.
However, it is still affecting the movements in electronic card transactions. Users should be
aware that movements in electronic card transactions are overstated by this increasing share
when comparing the ECT series with the RTS.
Differences observed in data series
We have compared the ECT series with the RTS. The results indicate the following.
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

Movements in the actual (unadjusted) values of electronic card transactions provide a
good indication of the direction of the RTS actuals, as the two series usually move in the
same direction.
Movements in ECT actuals are frequently different in magnitude compared with
movements in RTS actuals.
The differences found in the actuals data flow through to comparisons of the ECT and
RTS seasonally adjusted series, which can differ in the direction and size of the
movement.
These differences have generally been outside the acceptable tolerances indicated by
users for the use of the ECT series as a predictor of movements in the RTS.

Given these differences, we do not recommend using the ECT series as an indicator or predictor
of the RTS series.

More information
Principles and protocols for producers of Tier 1 statistics
Statistics in this release have been produced in accordance with the Official Statistics System
principles and protocols for producers of Tier 1 statistics for quality. They conform to the
Statistics NZ Methodological Standard for Reporting of Data Quality.

Liability
While all care and diligence has been used in processing, analysing, and extracting data and
information in this publication, Statistics NZ gives no warranty it is error-free and will not be liable
for any loss or damage suffered by the use directly, or indirectly, of the information in this
publication.

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 Timing
Our information releases are delivered electronically by third parties. Circumstances outside our
control may delay delivery. Statistics NZ does not accept responsibility for any such delay.

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 Contacts
For media enquiries contact:
Neil Kelly
Christchurch 03 964 8700
Email: info@stats.govt.nz
For technical information contact:
Madu Weera
Christchurch 03 964 8700
Email: info@stats.govt.nz
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 Tables
See the following Excel tables in the 'Downloads' box on this page. If you have problems viewing
the files, see opening files and PDFs.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Electronic card transactions by industry – actual monthly values
Electronic card transactions by industry – seasonally adjusted monthly values
Electronic card transactions by industry – trend monthly values
Electronic card transactions – number of transactions
Electronic card transactions – averages and proportions

A machine-readable zipped CSV file is also available in the 'Downloads' box.

Access more data on Infoshare
Infoshare allows you to organise data in the way that best meets your needs. You can view the
resulting tables onscreen or download them.
Use Infoshare
For this release, select the following category from the Infoshare homepage:
Subject category: Economic indicators
Group: Electronic Card Transactions (ANZSIC06) – ECT

Next release
Electronic Card Transactions: May 2016 will be released on 10 June 2016.

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