Iran Payments Report - Mehr 1400 (September 23 - October 22)
- ATM - Includes transactions such as withdrawals and bill payments made at an automated teller machine
- EFTPOS - Includes card payments made using a point-of-sale pin pad, such as in a store
- Online payments - Includes card payments made through an internet payment gateway, such as in an e-commerce shop
Average Transaction Value Continues Slide
Payment statistics published by the Central Bank of Iran for the Iranian calendar month of Mehr (September 23 - October 22) show continued weakness in Iranian consumer demand.
Total inflation-adjusted transaction value across ATM, EFTPOS, and online platforms was IRR 2.48 quadrillion, down from IRR 2.75 quadrillion in the previous month. In dollar terms the total inflation-adjusted transaction value was USD 8.97 billion, calculated using the month’s average free market exchange rate of IRR 276,376.
For the second month in a row, the trailing 12-month total transaction value across ATM, EFTPOS, and online payments showed negative growth year-on-year at -3.19 percent, suggesting that Iranian consumers are tightening their belts after high expenditures last year.
Average inflation-adjusted transaction values across EFTPOS and online transactions, a proxy for consumer spending in stores and online, fell slightly from IRR 6 million to IRR 5.5 million. Average transaction values were down 25 percent year-on-year in the month of Mehr.
The drop in average value continues to be driven by growth in the number of card transactions, suggesting that Iranians have responded to inflation, which has made it necessary to carry much more cash to purchase even non-discretionary goods, by switching over to the relative convenience of card payments. In addition, during the pandemic, shops such as bakeries, have stopped accepting cash for sanitary reasons. High rates of inflation have also eroded purchasing power and left more households living “paycheck-to-paycheck,” meaning that frequent shopping trips with smaller expenditures have become more common.
Card transactions were up 30 percent year-on-year in the month of Mehr, while the value of those transactions is down about 10 percent.
Photo: IRNA
