Domestic card transactions in Akureyri surged 95 percent

Domestic card transactions in Akureyri rose by 95 percent during the holiday weekend compared with a typical July weekend, while card spending increased by 68 percent, mbl.is reported, citing payment processing company Teya.

Sunday was proportionally the busiest day, with three times as many transactions as on a normal Sunday.

The number of “new” cards used in Akureyri, meaning cards that had not been used in the town during the previous eight weeks, increased by 91 percent compared with an ordinary weekend.

Teya also reported that domestic cards accounted for a larger share of card use in the town. On a typical midsummer weekend, about one-third of cards used in Akureyri are foreign. During the holiday weekend, foreign cards accounted for one-quarter of all cards used, while the share of domestic card transactions rose from 77 percent to 87 percent.

The weekend included the Ein með öllu town festival in Akureyri.

All 10 of the busiest hours ever recorded for domestic card spending in Akureyri in Teya’s data came during the weekend. The peak was between 8pm and 9pm on Saturday, when the system processed about 2.5 times as many transactions as during the busiest hour recorded before the holiday weekend.

The festival’s busiest hour last year had held the record until this weekend, but it is no longer among the 10 busiest hours.