CardTrak.com - Most Trusted Source of Credit Cards Since 1986

By Thomas Redman, CardTrak.com

The 2004 holiday season exceeded expectations as retail sales charged to major credit cards, signature debit cards, and store credit cards ran more than 5% over projected levels. Debit card use soared, rising about 14% above projections. VISA reported that on Christmas Eve credit card retail sales declined 5%, while debit card retail volume surged by 24%. For the five weeks ending December 26th, overall retail payment card volume was $113.8 billion, compared to an estimated $107.7 billion for the 2004 season. Store credit cards are up less than 1% to $15.9 billion in retail volume for the holiday period, while credit cards rose a modest 4.4% to $73.6 billion.