Visa has presented its forecast for upcoming spending by Russians on foreign trips in the summer of 2019 based on an analysis of the transactional behavior of Visa cardholders. According to the company's estimates, this summer the volume of Russians' spending on Visa cards abroad, including cash withdrawals will increase by 7% compared to the same period last year. At the same time, the number of cards used abroad will also increase by approximately 10%.
As the company's press service told the TRN portal, according to forecasts, holders of 2.3 million Visa cards will use one card on average about 11 times per trip, the total expenses on it will amount to 826 US dollars, of which 17% will be spent by Russians in cash, and 83% - on paying for goods and services through payment terminals in hotels, stores, restaurants and cultural and entertainment venues.
The largest increase in the volume of expenses on the cards of our compatriots is expected in the countries of North America (+12% compared to the same period last year) and Asia (+11%). The growth of expenses in Europe will be +8%.
Top 10 countries where the largest increase in Russians' spending on Visa cards is expected in the summer of 2019
(compared to the same period last year):
Where, how much and on what we spent last summer
According to Visa, in the summer of 2018, Russians spent almost two-thirds of the total amount of funds (70%) in European countries, followed by Asia (20%) and South America (6%) with a significant gap. At the same time, the largest expenses on one card per trip, including cash withdrawals, were observed in the countries of South America and the Pacific Islands (2,036 and 1,659 US dollars, respectively), and the smallest - in the countries of Asia and Africa (512 and 277 US dollars).
Interestingly, Russians spent almost two-thirds of the total amount of money spent abroad on Visa cards in just ten countries, seven of which are in Europe. The absolute leader in total spending on one card was the United States ($2,094) — they were almost 60% ahead of their closest competitor. Italy is the record holder among European countries: here this figure is more than one and a half times higher than the European average ($1,319 and $808, respectively). Cyprus and Turkey round out the top ten.
Top 10 countries by payment volume in summer 2018
(in brackets is the total amount of expenses per card per trip, including cash withdrawals from ATMs)
The most expensive destination for Russians was South America: it was here that the highest average bill was recorded for most categories of goods and services. Europe came out on top in only two categories: "leather goods, bags and suitcases" and "clothes for the whole family." Accommodation was cheapest in North America, and food was cheapest in African and Asian countries.
Source: trn-news.ru
