PH credit cards hit 6.5m despite rising complaints

The number of credit cards in use in the Philippines rose to 6.5 million as of February this year, prompting Bangko Sentral to respond to growing complaints against abuses in the use of these cards.

“Credit card base is now 6.5 million. Out of the total, we received 2,400 complaints or just 0.01 percent of the total base,” Johnny Noe Ravalo, managing director of Bangko Sentral, told reporters in a news briefing Friday.

He said the number of credit cards had risen from just 4 million two years ago.

There were 4.5 million to 4.6 million credit card users in the country, with a number of them holding multiple cards, Ravalo said.

Data showed that as of September 2010, credit card receivables reached P133.9 billion, up 2.9 percent year-on-year. Credit card loans represented 4.8 percent of the total consumer loans.

Complaints against unfair credit card collection agencies topped the list received by the financial consumer affairs group of Bangko Sentral, which was created in 2006. –Roderick T. dela Cruz, Manila Standard Today