Consumer spending via POS transactions rises 1% to SAR 93.2 bln in December: SAMA

Saudi Arabian banknotes

Consumer spending in Saudi Arabia rose by 1% to nearly SAR 93.2 billion in December, from SAR 92.7 billion during the same period last year.

According to the Saudi Central Bank's (SAMA) monthly bulletin, total consumer spending since the beginning of last year reached SAR 1.055 trillion, up 7% from the same period last year.

Consumer spending includes total cash withdrawals and point-of-sale (POS) sales, as the following table shows:

POS transactions rose by 18% to SAR 44.37 billion in December, from SAR 37.62 billion in the same month last year.

Data showed that a total of 525.94 million transactions were processed through 1.01 million POS in the month.

POS transactions represent what is spent by consumers using their ATM cards and credit cards in shopping malls, retail stores, pharmacies, etc.

The following table shows the development of POS transactions:

Cash withdrawals declined by 11% to SAR 48.8 billion in December, from SAR 55.1 billion last year.

The withdrawals were processed through 16,500 ATMs and through 134.1 million transactions.