Groceries and fuel accounted for nearly 60% of Ukrainians’ card spending in October

Nearly six in every ten hryvnias spent by Ukrainians through payment terminals in October went on groceries and fuel. Meanwhile, the average supermarket purchase rose by 15% over the month, from UAH 286 to UAH 329. The figures come from Raiffeisen Bank’s analysis of card and device-based payments across its network.

Grocery stores and supermarkets accounted for 40% of total spending through the bank’s terminals, with petrol stations making up a further 19%. The top five categories by spending also included building materials and timber (7.29%), clothing (4.16%) and specialist food stores (3.14%). Together, these categories accounted for almost three-quarters of total transaction value.

Clothing stores recorded the highest average purchase value at UAH 2,120. The average transaction wasUAH 1,005 at building materials stores and UAH 1,028 at petrol stations. At petrol stations, the figure rose by 6% from UAH 968 in September.

“Even during power outages, people can pay with cards and smart devices. Our terminals can run on battery power for six to eight hours, allowing shops and other businesses to keep accepting payments even when electricity is unavailable,” said Yevhen Vasyltsov, Director of the Acquiring Department at Raiffeisen Bank.

Online spending patterns also shifted. Fast food, fuel and education services attracted the highest spending through the bank’s online acquiring service. However, the strongest month-on-month growth in transaction value came from other categories: online tax payments increased by 110%, taxi services by 109%, clothing purchases by 74% and utility payments by 14%.

Overall, Ukrainians made 62.6 million payments worth UAH 32 billion through Raiffeisen Bank’s terminals and online services in October. The average transaction value was UAH 511. More than 27,000 merchants accept card payments through Raiffeisen Bank’s terminals, and the bank’s network comprises over 36,000 terminals.