ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—In October, consumer spending continued to show resilient growth, while consumer sentiment dropped to levels last seen in 2022 during the peak of the post-COVID inflationary period, Velera reported, citing data from its November edition of the Velera Payments Index.
"The rapid rise of money services, driven by peer-to-peer platforms and emerging fintech solutions, underscores a collective shift from cash to digital payments. But it's the accelerating shift from dollars in checking accounts to dollars in digital wallets that highlights a major change in how consumers move and store money, even if temporarily,” said Jon Budd, CEO, Juniper Payments. “Consumers expect convenience, immediacy and control — and instant, secure access to their funds. While this may seem daunting, credit unions are more than capable of delivering on these expectations, even if incrementally. The shift is not about technology alone — it's about meeting members where they already are."
Key takeaways for October include:
- While consumer sentiment declined, growth in actual purchasing activity remained consistent in October. Debit purchases increased by 6.4%, with the Money Services and Goods sectors accounting for two-thirds of the growth. Credit purchases were up 1.7%, with the Goods, Services and Restaurant sectors accounting for 94% of the entire increase. Gasoline and Travel were nominal, with declines in credit purchases. For October, debit transactions were up 3.9% and credit transactions rose by 1.6%.
- Money services, mainly comprising P2P payments, continued to be the largest contributor to growth in debit purchases, representing 13% of overall debit card purchases. Two-thirds of purchases in this sector are P2P related, and the balance is made up of BNPL and cryptocurrency activity.
- The holiday spending season kicked off in October with the expected annual sales from the three largest retailers. The Goods sector notably contributed to the year-over-year growth in credit and debit purchases. Amazon’s sale yielded the largest year-over-year growth, followed by Walmart and Target.
- With the last FOMC of 2025 concluding on Dec. 10, there may be time for scheduled published economic data to be delivered in late November and early December. While the Fed hinted at a possible rate reduction, Chair Jerome Powell also cited differing views among the voting members of the committee following the last meeting in October.
- In October, the ADP private-sector jobs report showed an increase in U.S. private employment jobs of 42,000, beating the Dow Jones forecast by roughly 20,000 jobs. The next BLS report is scheduled for release on Dec. 5.
The full report is available for download here.