Bank of America clients make $249bn in payments in February

Bank of America (BofA) has announced that its 67 million consumer clients made $294 billion in payments in February 2022.

The payments figure is a 16% increase from February 2021, and, according to the financial institution, suggests a return to more normalized spending.

The latest data shows a continuation of the trend of strong consumer payments and spending observed in January this year, and follows the record $3.8 trillion in total payments in 2021.

BofA also reported combined credit and debit card spending among clients totalled $63 billion in February, up 21% on the same month the previous year.

There was continued strong demand for goods and services in February, as total credit and debit transactions were up 15% year-over-year, BofA revealed.

Travel spending on debit and credit cards soared 95% year-on-year. Boomers and Seniors are behind this spend, with airline spend up 153% year-on-year, while spending with travel agencies climbed 147%.

As in-person activities resumed last month, spending at restaurants increased by 38% and at gyms by 43% compared to last year, which BofA attributed to Gen Z and Millennials.

Similarly, Gen Z and Millennials greatly outpaced other generations in expenditure on movie theatres, ticket agencies and amusement parks, up by 162% year-on-year in February. By contrast, there was an increase of 94% among Boomers and Seniors.

Coffee shops, dry cleaners and public transport altogether saw a 30% increase in payments as workers returned to the office last month.

Overall, BofA’s data showed the trend towards digital continued, as digital spending on credit and debit cards was up 22%, while tap-to-pay represented 19% of all in-person transactions.

Mary Hines Droesch, head of consumer and small business products at Bank of America, said: “We saw a strong continuation of payment and spending trends in February, another positive sign of the strength of US consumers.

"Strong spending trends across a variety of sectors such as travel, restaurants, public transportation and gym memberships suggest more consumers are returning to the office and resuming more in-person activities.”

A recent survey of consumer spending, published in February, found credit card expenditure had increased over the past five months.