MasterCard cardholders fork out US$1.4b on Great Singapore Sale

It was a 7.7% increase from last year's US$1.3 total spend.

In a release, total GSS spending on MasterCard cards was at US$1.4 billion. The total number of transactions on MasterCard cards during the Great Singapore Sale (GSS) 2012 exceeded a record 10 million – double the number reported five years ago – highlighting that there is a genuine shift towards electronic payments.

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The GSS came to a close with a 7.0% increase in total spend by both Singapore and foreign MasterCard cardholders. The total spend over the two-month period of the GSS (25 May – 22 July 2012) reached about US$1.4 billion, compared to US$1.3 billion recorded in the same period last year (27 May – 24 July 2011).

Notably, the total number of transactions hit the 10 million mark for the first time, rising 17.0% to 10.7 million – an indication that consumers are embracing electronic payments and are spending more on their cards, even for smaller purchases which had traditionally been paid for in cash.

MasterCard’s continual efforts to extend the MasterCard® PayPassTM acceptance network in Singapore to pave the path towards a cashless society also showed positive results in GSS 2012, where the number of PayPass transactions grew 100-fold and total spend jumped by over 54.0%.

Spend by Singapore-based MasterCard cardholders saw a 7.4% increase to US$929.9 million, while the number of transactions increased by 16.7% to 8.3 million.

Lured by attractive GSS deals, visiting MasterCard cardholders spent US$480.4 million and made 2.4 million transactions during the Sale. The total spend and number of transactions went up by 6.1% and 16.9% respectively as compared to the same period last year. Cardholders from Australia, the US, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Japan emerged as the top five spenders for the GSS 2012. Of note, tourists from Australia and Japan recorded an average of more than 40.0% jump in total spend and number of transactions against last year’s figures.

“The GSS represents a continual collaboration between MasterCard and industry leaders to present the best deals to consumers, and the strong performance amidst global uncertainty is an indication that consumers value the privileges and experiences that we are bringing to them during the Sale,” said Julienne Loh, vice president and country manager, Singapore, MasterCard Worldwide.