Greeks spend their locked-away euros

ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — Use it or lose it: that’s the plan for many Greeks, who have been going on a credit cardfuelled spending spree as the economy has tanked out of fears their cash could be confiscated or devalued.

Wary of the experience in fellow eurozone member Cyprus two years ago, when deposits were seized to recapitalize banks, Greeks are opting to drain their accounts by electronically paying taxes and bills – or buying luxury goods.

“Up to last weekend, people bought a lot of things to protect their money,” confirmed Andreas Triantaphylidis, vice president of the Association of Athens Merchants.

Between June 27, when Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced a referendum that made his eurozone creditors boil, and July 10, when speculation peaked that Greece could crash out of the euro in a so-called “Grexit,” luxury products have been flying off the shelves.

Sales of expensive goods such as watches and jewellery and electronic items like smartphones and computers leapt 30 percent compared to the same period last year, Triantaphylidis said.

The unexpected wave of spending was spurred by the rationing of cash from ATMs – withdrawals have been limited to 60 euros ($67) per day for over two weeks – spurring the much wider use of credit cards and electronic cash transfers than ever before in Greece.

Some 500,000 credit cards were delivered in the past few days, helping push card transactions up 130 percent, according to the Association of Greek Banks.