According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, the total number of personal credit cards issued by banks in Macao continued to rise in the first quarter of 2018. Both the credit card turnover and total repayments registered double-digit year-on-year growth.
Cards issued
Mainly attributed to the prolonged growth of dual-currency and triple-currency cards, the total number of personal credit cards issued by banks in Macao stood at 1,216,548 at end-March 2018, equivalent to an increase of 2.5% over a quarter earlier or 12.1% over a year earlier. The numbers of pataca (MOP) cards, Hong Kong dollar (HKD) cards and renminbi (RMB) cards grew year-on-year by 12.0% (to 860,764), 4.6% (to 89,029) and 15.0% (to 266,755) respectively.
Credit limit granted and delinquency
At end-March 2018, credit card credit limit granted by banks in Macao reached MOP29.5 billion, up 3.2% from end-2017 or 14.5% from end-March 2017. Credit card receivables amounted to MOP2.4 billion, of which the rollover amount totalled MOP774.3 million, representing 32.3% 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 1.38% at end-2017 to 1.59% at end-March 2018.
Turnover and repayment
For the first quarter of 2018, the credit card turnover totalled MOP5.4 billion, equivalent to a drop of 3.6% quarter-to-quarter but a rise of 12.9% year-on-year. The cash advance turnover was MOP222.8 million, occupying 4.1% of total credit card turnover. Credit card repayments, in which payments for interest and fees are included, amounted to MOP5.7 billion, up 8.4% from the previous quarter or 13.0% from the same period last year.