Galileo Q3 debit card spending index: essential spending squeezes discretionary spending, and the technology platform turns data into a product
Galileo (SoFi Tech Solutions) has published its Q3 debit card spending index. Debit card spending rose 7.4% and the number of transactions 5.9%. But the mix shows utilities (up 20.7%), fuel (up 9.9%) and subscription price rises (up 9.7% by value, 1.3% by number of transactions) squeezing discretionary spending, so household budgets are tight.
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That is a warning for the credit quality of SoFi's personal loans, and the Q3 results on 27 Oct need to be watched for the net charge-off and delinquency rates on personal loans. For the technology platform it is a plus, showing that platform data can be packaged into B2B insight products. But 7.4% is not the platform's revenue growth rate, and real growth has to be read from the segments in the results.
Key evidence
- SoFi Tech Solutions (formerly Galileo), official press release on Business Wire, 19 Oct: 2026 Q3 debit card spending index
- Data basis: anonymised, aggregated debit card transactions processed through SoFi's technology platform in Q3, covering 300+ merchant category codes
- Q3 versus Q2: debit card spending up 7.4% by value and transactions up 5.9% by number. More than 62% of transactions were digital.
- The mix diverged: utilities up 20.7% and fuel up 9.9% (fuel accounts for 6.3% of debit card spending, more than groceries at 5.6%)
- Subscriptions and recurring charges: up 9.7% by value but only 1.3% by number, driven mainly by price rises rather than growth in users
- Direct evidence that discretionary spending (dining and entertainment) is being squeezed
- The press release does not break down the 7.4% between new and existing customers, so it cannot be taken directly as technology platform revenue growth
Catalysts to watch
- Q3 results on 27 Oct: whether the net charge-off rate and delinquency rate on personal loans rise
- Q3 results on 27 Oct: technology platform segment revenue and number of accounts (to judge monetisation of data products)
- Whether management packages the debit card index as a B2B data insight product and discloses it separately
Risks
- Tight household budgets could feed through to SoFi's personal loan customers (high income and high credit scores, but not immune)
- A continued contraction in discretionary spending may signal rising default rates on credit cards and personal loans later
- Growth in value driven by subscription price rises is not sustainable, and the 1.3% rise in transactions exposes weak user activity
- The gap between the platform's 7.4% spending growth and its revenue growth: if new customers contribute little, the platform growth story is discounted
Sources (1)
- Business Wire, 19 Oct: SoFi Tech Solutions press release on the 2026 Q3 debit card spending index
A brief is a lead for our research, not a verified conclusion or advice.