SortMe Money
SortMe Money is the podcast for New Zealanders who want their money to work harder without having to think about it constantly. Each episode turns our most-read articles into audio — practical insights on spending, saving, investing, and the everyday financial decisions that quietly shape your life. Made by the team behind SortMe, NZ's AI-powered personal finance app.
SortMe Money
Kiwis Are Pulling Back on Credit Cards, What We're Seeing Inside SortMe
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Credit card spending in New Zealand fell 1.1% year-on-year in February 2026 — the first negative reading since the COVID disruptions of 2020. Most coverage ran with a "Kiwis are scared to spend" story. SortMe CEO and Co-Founder Carl Thompson thinks that's only half of what's happening.
Drawing on what SortMe sees across thousands of connected household accounts, this episode makes the case that Kiwis are quietly getting smarter about credit — and the behavioural research explains why.
In this episode:
- What the February credit card drop actually means (and what it doesn't)
- Why active credit cards in NZ have fallen 14% per adult since 2019
- The Dun & Bradstreet finding that credit card users spend 12–18% more than cash buyers
- The MIT fMRI research showing credit card purchases activate the same brain reward centre as addictive substances
- Why the rewards maths has quietly stopped stacking up (Kiwibank, BNZ, and the interchange fee caps)
- Why NZ's credit system makes card-holding less necessary than in the US
- The BNPL trap worth watching as cards decline
- Why visibility, not willpower, is what makes the behaviour change stick
Read the full article: sortme.com/post/kiwis-pulling-back-credit-cards