Citizens with declining purchasing power turn to credit cards: Card payments increased by 116 percent in December

Citizens, whose purchasing power has declined due to rising prices, high inflation, and the cost of living, have sought a solution in credit cards.

According to data from the Interbank Card Center (BKM) for December, the number of credit cards in Turkey reached 117.7 million, the number of debit cards reached 189.5 million, and the number of prepaid cards reached 90.0 million.

Compared to December 2022, there was an 18 percent increase in the number of credit cards, a 12 percent increase in the number of debit cards, and a 26 percent increase in the number of prepaid cards. The total number of cards reached 397.2 million, showing a 17 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

The total payment amount made with credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards in December increased by 116 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 978.3 billion liras. While 818.2 billion liras of card payments were made with credit cards, 142.6 billion liras were made with debit cards, and 17.5 billion liras were made with prepaid cards.

CREDIT CARD USAGE INCREASED BY 124 PERCENT

The growth rate in payments made with credit cards compared to the same period of the previous year was 124 percent, while it was 78 percent for payments made with debit cards and 128 percent for payments made with prepaid cards.

The total number of payments made with credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards in December increased by 22 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 1.4 billion. While 809.8 million of the card payments were made with credit cards, 525.4 million were made with debit cards, and 109.9 million were made with prepaid cards.

The growth rate in the number of payments made with credit cards was 24 percent compared to the same period last year, while it was 15 percent for the number of payments made with debit cards and 41 percent for the number of payments made with prepaid cards.

News Source: 12punto