Credit card turnover drops 6.5 pct in Q1

The city’s credit card turnover totalled MOP4.4 billion (US$550 million) for the first three months of the year, which represents a year-on-year decrease of 6.5 per cent, according to the latest statistics released on Friday by the Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM).
In the first quarter, local cash advance turnover amounted to MOP237 million, which accounted for 5.3 per cent of total credit card turnover. Meanwhile, credit card repayment, including interest and fees, rose 2.7 per cent quarter-to-quarter to MOP4.7 billion.
As at the end of March, the total number of personal credit cards in circulation grew 5.5 per cent to 977,048 quarter-to-quarter. The number of cards designated in MOP accounted for 694,250 of the total, up 4.2 per cent year-on-year. In addition, that of Hong Kong Dollar cards and Renminbi cards increased by 3.4 per cent and 11.2 per cent, amounting to 83,785 and 199,013, respectively.
AMCM noted that the majority of Renminbi cards in circulation were dual-currency pataca and renminbi cards.
On the other hand, local banks granted credit card limits of MOP22.7 billion as at the end of the quarter, up 7.3 per cent compared to three months ago. Credit card receivables reached MOP2.1 billion, of which the rollover amount accounted for 31.8 per cent, or MOP681.8 million.
Meanwhile, the delinquency ratio, which indicates the amount overdue for more than three months to credit card receivables, registered a quarter-to-quarter growth of 0.22 percentage points to 1.35 per cent as at the end of March, according to the monetary authority.