No more traveling a bunch of bills in the wallet where the bill will be paid restaurant or purchases Gifts on holidays. Whether for security, to prevent possible theft, or for pure comfort, but the truth is Tourists are increasingly using card When making your payments when you visit Costa Blanca. Moreover, it is an even more preferred application. widespread use of mobile phones As an alternative to physical cards with ‘contactless’ usage.
Thus, after the already strong increase due to the pandemic (with many citizens starting to use this system even for smaller payments), spending was made via credit or debit cards. didn’t stop growing Although it is true that it is at a slightly slower pace in the province. Especially during the last year total volume of payments made by electronic money in Alicante increased by 14.4% Compared to 2022, when it has already increased by 28.1%, according to data provided by BBVA ResearchIt is based on transactions recorded by both the institution’s cards and the POS terminals through which payments are made in businesses.
If this data is separated according to the origin of the users, The biggest increase was recorded among international touristsuntil it was left that way last year 16.9% There is more money in the state. It’s a development that the research service itself attributes to a general increase in tourist spending last year, with more visitors arriving and rising prices, as well as the greater use of these devices compared to cash.
In this sense, for example, monthly data reveals the following: The largest increases occurred in the months considered to be the low season. In parallel with the increase in visitors recorded outside the summer season due to the increase in temperatures. Thus, in January, foreigners’ card spending increased by 37.7%, in March this figure increased by 30%, and in the last months of the year – from October to December – by more than 20%. On the contrary, it increased by only 8.7% in July.
On their part, national tourists They also made greater use of electronic payments, but the increase was smaller, 9.6%According to data from BBVA Research. This situation is not so strange, considering that the increase in the number of visitors from other parts of the country was less after last year’s explosion.
without worry
Although the labor office does not disturb this, the President of the Benidorm Association of Bars, Restaurants and Cafes (Abreca), Javier del CastilloIt is clear that there is a possibility. pay with your mobile phone It has a lot to do with these numbers. “This is much simpler and it’s something like that you always carry“says the representative of Benidorm hoteliers, assuring that about half of the bills in this type of business are already paid by card.
It is a trend that pays off for business owners, despite the cost it brings for organizations, because in this way, customers They don’t have to worry about whether they’ll have enough money. and they tend to spend more, according to Del Castillo.
Also president of Hosbec FedFuster, points out that the trend is towards using less and less cash, which Hotels’ cash control needs have decreased Additionally, at a time when organizations are increasingly objecting to cash receipts.
According to data from BBVA Research, the entire Valencian Community was the place where the volume of card payments by business type increased the most last year. large surfacesIt follows them with a 66% increase from 2022. recreation and entertainmentthe volume of spending made through electronic means increased by 36.2%; the bars and restaurants24.1% more; the travel agency (+23.8%); or aesthetic services (+13.4%).