Kiwis Are Pulling Back on Credit Cards, What We're Seeing Inside SortMe

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 2019The Dun & Bradstreet finding that credit card users spend 12–18% more than cash buyersThe MIT fMRI research showing credit card purchases activate the same brain reward centre as addictive substancesWhy 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 USThe BNPL trap worth watching as cards declineWhy visibility, not willpower, is what makes the behaviour change stickRead the full article: sortme.com/post/kiwis-pulling-back-credit-cards