Credit card spending in Colombia rose 9% in 2017 from the previous year to 67.5 trillion pesos up from 61 trillion pesos, despite the country's economic troubles during last year, Portafolio reported, citing data from financial regulator Superfinanciera.
75% of the spending reportedly corresponds to direct purchases, both in Colombia and abroad, and the remainder was cash withdrawals which grew 13% during the year.
At the end of 2017, the total credit card debt in Colombia amounted to 28.1 trillion pesos, up 8% from 2016, while delinquency rose to 7.5%, the report said.
Banco Colpatria Multibanca Colpatria SA and Compañía de Financiamiento Tuya SA were the biggest suppliers of credit cards currently in use, with 2.3 million and 2.2 million cards, respectively. Meanwhile the biggest credit card portfolio belongs to Bancolombia SA, reaching around 5 trillion pesos in 2017, according to the report.
As of March 6, US$1 was equivalent to 2,851.40 Colombian pesos.
