• Defaulted credit card transactions surpass Rs. 40 b in 1H24
• Rising credit card usage and transaction values signal economic upturn

Sri Lanka’s defaulted credit card transaction value surpassed Rs. 40 billion in the first half of the year, with increased transaction values indicating a recovery in the economy, Central bank data showed.

According to the payments bulletin for Q2 of 2024, the defaulted credit cards in Q2 amounted to 168,978, a 2.2% reduction year-on-year (y-o-y) and gradual increase from the Q1 figures of 164,752.

The defaulted transaction value for Q2 was at Rs. 20.7 billion, a 6.2% increase y-o-y and the highest value recorded since the third quarter of 2022 at the height of the economic crisis. Q1 of 2024 recorded a value of Rs. 20 billion.

Moreover, the report showed that the total credit card transaction value in Q2 stood at Rs. 162.6 billion, an 18% increase y-o-y with 1.926 million credit cards in use, still 4.1% less than in Q2 of 2023.

Although the average volume of transaction per credit card has stood between 10 and 11 in the last five quarters, the average value of transaction per credit card has increased to Rs. 84,400 in Q2 compared to Rs. 68,600 a year ago and Rs. 81,700 in Q1 of 2024.

Further, 1.29 million debit cards were issued in Q2 of 2024, indicating a 13.1% increase compared to a year ago, while the total transaction value of debit cards stood at Rs. 222 billion highest ever recorded, and an about 32% increase y-o-y.

The average volume of transaction per debit card has increased to 3.1 while the average value has increased to Rs. 11,307.