According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, the total number of personal credit cards in circulation continued to grow in the first quarter of 2017. Both the credit card turnover and total repayments witnessed varied degrees of increase 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 1,093,213 at the end of March 2017, equivalent to an increase of 3.2% over a quarter earlier or 11.9% over a year earlier. The numbers of pataca (MOP) cards, Hong Kong dollar (HKD) cards and renminbi (RMB) cards rose year-on-year by 10.7% (to 768,289), 11.0% (to 93,005) and 16.5% (to 231,919) respectively.
Credit limit granted and delinquency
As at end-March 2017, credit card credit limit granted by banks in Macao reached MOP26.4 billion, up 4.1% from end-December 2016 or 16.1% from end-March 2016. Credit card receivables amounted to MOP2.3 billion while the rollover amount totalled MOP739.7 million, accounting for 32.7% of credit card receivables. The delinquency ratio, i.e. the ratio of delinquent amount overdue for more than three months to credit card receivables, rose from 1.21% at end-December 2016 to 1.46% at end-March 2017.
Turnover and repayment
For the first quarter of 2017, the credit card turnover totalled MOP4.8 billion, down 3.5% quarter-to-quarter but up 9.1% year-on-year. The cash advance turnover was MOP249.9 million, accounting for 5.2% of total credit card turnover. Credit card repayments, in which payments for interest and fees are included, amounted to MOP5.1 billion, representing an increase of 5.5% from the previous quarter or 9.2% from the same period last year.