Credit cards in circulation rise by 10 pct year-on-year

The number of credit cards in circulation rose by 10.1 percent year-on-year, reaching 830,791, as revealed by data from the Monetary Authority of Macau. The number of credit cards increased 1.3 percent over the quarter earlier in September.
Figures show that 18.5 percent of the 153,960 credit cards issued last year in Macau were denominated in RMB.
The total number of credit cards in circulation reached 830,791 by the end of December 2014. MOP cards and RMB cards saw a respective growth of 2.6 percent and 2.3 percent quarter-to-quarter, while HKD cards recorded a drop of 9.1 percent due to adjustments of credit card business by individual banks, the Monetary Authority said.
Compared to one year ago, MOP and RMB cards rose 12 percent and 9.9 percent respectively, while HKD cards declined 2.4 percent.
By the end of December, credit card’s credit limits on cards set by banks in Macau reached MOP17.3 billion, up by 5 percent over September 2014. In the fourth quarter of 2014, credit card turnover increased 12.9 percent quarter-to-quarter, reaching MOP4.6 billion. Cash advance turnover was MOP214.8 million, accounting for 4.7 percent of total credit card turnover.