According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, the total number of personal credit cards in circulation continued to rise in the second quarter of 2017.  Both the credit card turnover and total repayments witnessed high single-digit growth from a year ago.

Circulation

On the back of the increasing dual-currency and triple-currency cards, the total number of personal credit cards in circulation was 1,134,044 at the end of June 2017, equivalent to an increase of 3.7% over a quarter earlier or 12.3% over a year earlier.  The numbers of pataca (MOP) cards, Hong Kong dollar (HKD) cards and renminbi (RMB) cards rose year-on-year by 11.4% (to 796,992), 10.2% (to 94,725) and 16.2% (to 242,327) respectively.

Credit limit granted and delinquency

As at end-June 2017, credit card credit limit granted by banks in Macao reached MOP27.3 billion, up 3.6% from end-March 2017 or 15.5% from end-June 2016. Credit card receivables amounted to MOP2.5 billion, of which the rollover amount totalled MOP751.7 million, accounting for 30.5% of credit card receivables.  The delinquency ratio, i.e. the ratio of delinquent amount overdue for more than three months to credit card receivables, dropped from 1.46% at end-March 2017 to 1.37% at end-June 2017.

Turnover and repayment

For the second quarter of 2017, the credit card turnover totalled MOP4.9 billion, up 2.1% quarter-to-quarter or 8.9% year-on-year.  The cash advance turnover was MOP225.2 million, accounting for 4.6% of total credit card turnover.  Credit card repayments, in which payments for interest and fees are included, amounted to MOP4.8 billion, down 6.6% from the previous quarter but up 8.1% from the same period last year.