Hong Kong Sees Development in Credit score Card Circulation in Q1 2025

The Hong Kong Financial Authority (HKMA) has printed its newest statistics on cost playing cards issued in Hong Kong, revealing a notable improve in bank card circulation for the primary quarter of 2025. Based on the HKMA, the full variety of bank cards in circulation reached 21.88 million by the top of the quarter, marking a 4.5% rise from the earlier quarter and a considerable 9.5% improve from the identical interval final 12 months.

Credit score Card Transactions and Worth

The reported knowledge additionally highlights the tendencies in bank card transactions, that are topic to seasonal and financial fluctuations. The overall variety of bank card transactions recorded was 332.44 million, reflecting a 2.0% lower from the prior quarter however a ten.0% improve in comparison with Q1 2024. The overall worth of those transactions amounted to HK$274.1 billion, with a modest improve of 1.0% from the earlier quarter and an 8.4% rise year-on-year. Of this worth, HK$186.1 billion was attributed to retail spending inside Hong Kong, HK$79.0 billion to abroad retail spending, and HK$9.0 billion to money advances.

Debit Card Transactions

Whereas detailed figures for debit card circulation are unavailable because of overlapping manufacturers on single playing cards, the statistics present that the full variety of debit card transactions associated to retail gross sales and invoice funds decreased by 1.8% to 54.48 million in Q1 2025. Nevertheless, the full transaction worth rose by 1.1% to HK$73.8 billion. In comparison with the identical quarter in 2024, there was a notable 12.8% improve in transaction numbers, though the transaction worth noticed a 2.0% decline.

Trade Context

The HKMA’s quarterly publication of cost card statistics, initiated in June 2010, goals to boost the transparency of Hong Kong’s cost card business in alignment with worldwide requirements. The information encompasses data from each approved and non-authorized establishments beneath the schemes of eight main cost card operators, together with American Specific, Visa, and MasterCard, amongst others.

For additional particulars, the complete report and annexes could be accessed on the Hong Kong Financial Authority web site.

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