Payments by Cypriots in Cyprus with the use of a card rose 9% in March to €181.3 million compared to the year before, while the value fell an annual 2% in January to March to €551.7 million, JCC said in an emailed statement.

Cypriots’ spending with the use of credit cards picked up also abroad, the company said. The value of goods and services purchased by Cypriots abroad in March rose an annual 4% to €97.1 million and in the first quarter of the year also an annual 1% to €280.4 million.

The amount of purchases by tourists in Cyprus with the use of plastic money rose 19% in March to €38.5 million and 16% in January to March to €98.2 million compared to a year ago, the company said.

In a separate statement, JCC said that the overall value of transactions with the use of a credit card in Turkey and Cyprus’s Turkish held areas exceeded €0.8 million in March, with almost €0.5 million spent in the non-government controlled areas. In January to March, the respective figures were €2.4 million and €1.5 million, JCC said without providing any other 2014 data for comparisons.

In March, the value of purchases with the use of Turkish credit cards was €1.5 million while in the first quarter it was €4.8 million, JCC said.

Source: Cyprus Mail