NEW YORK—American consumers are spending more freely as the economy opens up further, according to one of the nation’s biggest banks.
Transaction volumes on Bank of America customers’ credit and debit cards and over the Zelle payment network have grown by 20% so far in 2021 compared to this point in 2019, BofA CEO Brian Moynihan told CNBC.
The comparison excludes 2020, an abnormal year in many respects, because the onset of the pandemic led to widespread stay-at-home orders. Nearly all spending categories have recovered with the exception of travel, which is still as much as 15% lower than in 2019, he said.
“People got a lot of stimulus money and they’ve been spending it,” Moynihan said. “The unemployment rate is coming down and people are going back to work. People can go to amusement parks, they can go on an inside-the-U.S. trip, they can go out to eat. You’re seeing everything open.”