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U.S. payment volume growth was still in negative territory in May thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the picture was brighter than it was in April, Visa Inc. reported late Monday.
“In May, total U.S. payments volume declined 5% year-over-year, a 13 percentage point (ppt) improvement over April,” Visa said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “Debit grew 12% and credit declined 21% year-over-year in May, a 17 ppt and 9 ppt improvement over April, respectively. The continued distribution of [federal] Economic Impact Payments and the relaxing of shelter-in-place restrictions in a number of states are driving these trends.”
For the calendar second quarter to date—April and May—total U.S. volume was off 11% year-over-year. Credit volume fell 25%. Debit, however, after having declined 5% in April crossed into positive territory in May, as noted, to bring its quarter-to-date growth to a positive 4%.
Some industries remain devastated by the pandemic. Last month volume from the travel industry was off more than 70% from May 2019, according to Visa. The combined entertainment/fuel/travel sector is down more than 40% year-over-year, and volumes in the restaurant and quick-service restaurant categories are off 20% to 40%.
Smaller volume declines—zero to 20% year-over-year in May—were felt in sectors that included business supplies, department stores, education and government, and health care.
On the plus side, volume grew fastest last month—more than 20%—at food and drug stores, home-improvement merchants, and in retail services, according to Visa. Sectors showing growth of zero to 20% included automotive, retail goods, and telecom and utilities.
Visa’s numbers reflect the boom in e-commerce as many consumers turned to online shopping and ordering from restaurants during lockdowns. By the week of May 31, Visa’s U.S. card-not-present volume had risen almost 40% from the same period a year earlier. At the same time, card-present volume had fallen nearly 35%.
Global processed transactions are down 18% quarter-to-date. The transaction count fell 24% year-over-year in April and improved to a 12% decline in May.
Cross-border payment volume, heavily dependent on travel, remains far below last year’s levels thanks to Covid-19. Excluding intra-Europe transactions, cross-border volume is down 48% quarter-to-date on a constant-currency basis. With intra-Europe transactions included, cross-border volume is still off 39%.
