Hong Kong Monetary Authority: As of the end of the first quarter, the total number of credit cards in circulation in the market was 29.18 million, a 7% increase compared to the previous period.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced today the statistical data on payment cards issued in Hong Kong in the first quarter of 2026. According to the quarterly statistics, the total number of credit cards in circulation in the market at the end of the first quarter of 2026 was 29.18 million, up 7.0% compared to the previous quarter and up 33.4% year-on-year. In the first quarter of 2026, the total number of credit card transactions was 384.94 million, down 2.3% compared to the previous quarter, but up 15.8% year-on-year. The total transaction amount of credit cards in the first quarter of 2026 was HK$311.3 billion, a decrease of 0.1% compared to the previous quarter, but an increase of 13.6% year-on-year. Among the total transaction amount, HK$211.5 billion (67.9%) was spent on consumption in Hong Kong, HK$90.3 billion (29.0%) on overseas consumption, and HK$9.5 billion (3.1%) on cash advances. As for debit cards, in the first quarter of 2026, the total transaction volume of debit cards used for retail sales and bill payments decreased by 2.0% to 52.65 million transactions compared to the previous quarter, while the total amount increased by 1.7% to HK$70.8 billion. Compared to the same period in 2025, the total transaction volume of debit cards in the first quarter of 2026 decreased by 3.4% and the total amount decreased by 4.1%.