Number of Credit Cards in Chile
Highest quarterly market share growth ranking (Issuers)
The credit and debit card market in Chile has shown a mixed performance in the first half of 2023, according to the latest data from the CMF. While debit cards have increased their number, transactions and value, credit cards have decreased their number and some types of transactions, but increased their transaction value for some issuers.
Debit cards
The number of debit cards in Chile reached 26.1 million in June 2023, a 3.1% increase compared to June 2022, when there were 25.4 million cards. The growth was driven by the increase in titular cards, while additional cards decreased by 7.2%.
The transactions made with debit cards also increased significantly, both in quantity and value. The quantity of transactions reached 1.9 billion in the first half of 2023, a 21% increase compared to the same period of 2022, when there were 1.6 billion transactions. The value of transactions reached 42.1 trillion pesos in the first half of 2023, an 8% increase compared to the same period of 2022, when it was 39 trillion pesos.
The growth of debit card transactions was mainly driven by debits, which increased by 22.5% in quantity and 10.5% in value, while ATM transactions increased by 8.1% in quantity and 2.3% in value.
Credit cards
The number of credit cards in Chile decreased by 4.6% in June 2023 compared to June 2022, reaching 16.5 million cards (considering banks, financial companies and retailers). The decrease was more pronounced for additional cards (11%), while titular cards decreased by 3.8%.
However, the transactions made with credit cards increased in both quantity and value in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period of 2022. The quantity of transactions reached 402 million, a 9% increase, while the value of transactions reached 21.4 trillion pesos, a 7.4% increase.
The growth of credit card transactions was mainly driven by purchases, which increased by 12.5% in quantity and 10.5% in value, while charges for services increased by 21% in value but decreased by 5.3% in quantity. On the other hand, advances of cash decreased by 19.4% in value and 2.4% in quantity, while purchases, advances and/or charges decreased by 9% in value and 4.8% in quantity.
Market share
The credit card market share by issuer showed some changes in June 2023 compared to March 2023. The issuers that increased their market share the most were CAT Administradora de Tarjetas (0.59%), Banco de Chile (0.22%), Banco Itaú-Corpbanca (0.14%), Banco Santander-Chile (0.09%) and CMR Falabella (0.08%).
Conclusion
Debit cards have grown more than credit cards in number, transactions and value, reflecting a preference for cashless payments and lower indebtedness among consumers. Credit cards have decreased in number but increased in value, especially for purchases, indicating a higher purchasing power among cardholders.