According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, the total number of personal credit cards and debit cards issued by banks in Macao increased in the fourth quarter of 2021. The turnover of credit cards and debit cards both witnessed increases from a quarter earlier. Meanwhile, the number and the value of transactions of local mobile payment tools continued to rise on a quarterly basis.
Payment cards issued
The total number of personal credit cards issued by banks in Macao stood at 1,538,947 at end-December 2021, representing an increase of 1.9% over the previous quarter. The total number of debit cards issued by banks in Macao reached 1,951,643, up by 1.6% from the last quarter.
Credit limit granted and delinquency
At end-December 2021, credit card credit limit granted by banks in Macao reached MOP45.0 billion, up 0.4% from end-September 2021. Credit card receivables amounted to MOP2.6 billion, of which the rollover amount totalled MOP752.9 million, representing 29.0% 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 by 0.06 percentage points to 2.3% when compared with end-September 2021.
Turnover and repayment
For the fourth quarter of 2021, the credit card turnover totalled MOP5.3 billion, an increase of 9.8% quarter-to-quarter. The cash advance turnover was MOP158.3 million, occupying 3.0% of total credit card turnover. The number of credit card transactions reached 8.0 million, a rise of 13.9% from the previous quarter. Credit card repayments, in which payments for interest and fees are included, grew by 5.3% from the previous quarter to MOP5.4 billion. On the other hand, the number of debit card transactions other than cash withdrawals rose by 4.7% from the previous quarter to 437.2 thousand. The debit card turnover totalled MOP1.1 billion, representing an increase of 16.4% from the last quarter.
Mobile payment
The number of transactions carried out by local mobile payment tools grew by 5.4% from the previous quarter to 56.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. The transaction value reached MOP5.7 billion, up 8.5% from the third quarter of 2021. The average amount per transaction was MOP101.1. At end-December 2021, the number of mobile payment terminals and QR code signs totalled 90.9 thousand, expanding 8.1% quarter-to-quarter.