Israelis Spend Record 109 Billion NIS on Credit Cards Over Summer
Israelis spent a record 109 billion NIS on credit cards in July and August, up 7.9% from last year. Fuel spending hit an all-time high due to gasoline prices rising to 8.09 NIS per liter.
Record Spending by Israelis
During July and August, Israeli consumers spent a record sum of approximately 109 billion NIS on credit cards. According to data from Shva, the administrator of the national payment systems, this represents a 7.9% increase compared to the same period last year. Within just four years, summer expenditures by Israelis have swelled by more than 40%.
In July, an all-time monthly spending record was broken, reaching approximately 55 billion NIS. Credit card spending in August stood at 54 billion NIS, a 10% increase from August of last year. Due to the high volume of Israelis traveling abroad in August compared to July, the average daily domestic spending recorded a slight decrease of 1.4%, standing at 1.75 billion NIS (excluding foreign currency transactions).
Fuel Sector Hits Historic Highs
The intensity of this summer's price increases is best illustrated by the fuel sector. August saw a historic record in spending at gas stations, reaching a daily average of 68.8 million NIS and totaling 2.13 billion NIS. This is a 13.8% increase compared to last year.
This surge is almost entirely driven by price hikes rather than increased consumption. In August, the price of gasoline was 8.09 NIS per liter, compared to 7.07 NIS in August 2025.
Sector-by-Sector Breakdown
The leading spending categories in August were:
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Food retail chains: grew by 6% to 6.3 billion NIS.
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Restaurants: jumped by 11.2% to 4.2 billion NIS.
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Electrical appliances and fashion: each recorded an 8.2% growth, reaching approximately 3 billion NIS each.
At the bottom of the list was the Israeli aviation sector, which saw a 0.8% decline to 427 million NIS, primarily due to a shift in demand toward foreign airlines, whose transactions are not captured in Shva's data.
Return to Malls and Cash Stability
Consumer behavior in August was also characterized by a return to shopping malls and street stores. The average daily spending on physical transactions broke records, reaching 758 million NIS per day (an 8.1% increase in total spending to 23.5 billion NIS for the month).
Online shopping experienced a slight moderation, with the average daily spending dropping by 4.2% compared to July to 988 million NIS. However, on an annual basis, online purchases grew by 11.5% to 30.6 billion NIS.
Cash withdrawals from bank ATMs in August amounted to 5.9 billion NIS, similar to August of last year. The fact that cash withdrawals remained rigid indicates that the public is not rushing to abandon cash. The rise in credit card spending mostly reflects overall nominal economic growth and price inflation, rather than a shift from cash to cards.
