Credit card transactions were up 6.7% in April versus March and 85.7% year-on-year (below inflation levels), which represents a decline in real terms, according to a study by First Capital Group (FCG).
In April, transactions of 2,606,987 million dollars were recorded, which means a nominal increase of 6.7% compared to the end of last month, approximately 163,089 million dollars above March and very close to the inflation values expected for this period .
Meanwhile, year-over-year growth reached 85.7%, below estimated inflation levels for the year, with real portfolio declines suggesting a “difficult situation that could affect the future of the credit card market. ”, states the FCG report.
“If we limit ourselves to the analysis of the change over the last month, we observe a stability of the portfolio in real terms, although the factors limiting its growth have not changed, such as the increase in the cost of financing, the lower supply of quotas, the limits in family budgets, the decrease in the number of owners and the prudence in the face of risk on the part of financial institutions; credit limits begin to be updated gradually over the years, even if not in a massive way”, he explained Guillermo Barbero, partner of FCG.
Meanwhile, dollar credit card usage fell 9.3% on an annual basis, albeit with erratic monthly trends. April saw a decrease of 0.9% compared to the previous month, with a balance of US$ 225 million.
“The differential exchange rates used to write off foreign currency balances and the inability to fund them or the requirement to convert peso debt at a higher rate than the rest of the card’s debts have slowed its use by travellers”, concluded Barbero.
Source: Clarin
