During Carnival 2024, Visa Consulting & Analytics (VCA), Visa’s global consulting practice, identified a notable increase in the number of transactions with Visa payment credentials, indicating the growing acceptance and adoption of digital payments. The number of Visa transactions during Trinidad Carnival 2024 increased by almost 20% in comparison to Carnival 2023, while contactless transactions more than doubled in growth. 

 “At Visa, we are proud to support the tradition of Carnival in Trinidad & Tobago and to enable the most advanced payment options trusted by locals and international visitors alike,” said Jorge Salum, Senior Director for Business Development at Visa Caribbean. “ Visa and its local partners have made significant investments to enable local merchants to securely and efficiently accept payments on the world’s largest payment network. These efforts are particularly important to enable a positive and safe experience at big events like Carnival.”

 The analysis of transactions during Carnival 2024 revealed that transactions in key merchant segments – supermarkets, restaurants, gas stations, and telecommunications – showed double-digit growth year over year, while there was a simultaneous reduction in ATM withdrawals. “This suggests that as the e-commerce offering grows and as more merchants accept contactless payments, the reliance on cash diminishes, a significant trend that Visa has observed at the global level,” Salum indicated.

 The analysis by Visa’s consultancy also showed that the number of Visa cross-border transactions made in Trinidad and Tobago with international cards increased by double digits during Carnival 2024 versus the previous year, revealing a dynamic growth scenario in Trinidad & Tobago. The majority of transactions came from US travellers, followed by Canada and the UK.

 These emerging trends and transactional behaviour patterns were studied by Visa Consulting & Analytics which analysed purchase and ATM transactions using Visa payment credentials and routed through VisaNet during the 2024 Trinidad and Tobago Carnival  (February 12 and 13) vs. the same event in 2023 (February 20 and 21).