The credit card market has been down, affecting consumers, the economy and state finances, according to the latest data in the hands of the National Banking and Insurance Commission (CNBS).
The reduction in the number of cards in circulation has had several causes, such as the brutal shock that the Honduran economy suffered in 2020 due to the pandemic and storms Eta and Iota, which registered a 9% drop in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) .
Another factor that has been hitting said market was the measures adopted years ago to regulate these, which had a negative impact on said financial product.
According to data from the CNBS, the drop in the circulation of credit cards went from 800,166 in July 2020 to 752,350 units in July 2021, which represented a decrease of 47,816 documents of the so-called plastic money.
In percentage terms, it represents a 6% drop from July 2020 to July of this year, according to the CNBS.
In Honduras, the credit card market is open and with intense competition, since they are issued by 11 out of 15 banking institutions, which means a competitive market and any issuer can gain market presence with its promotion, marketing and offers policies. that they provide to users.
But the reduction in credit cards has come from years ago, as CNBS data indicates that from January-July 2019 the number of circulating documents was from 814,197 to 800,166 in July 2020, a decrease of 14,013.
So that the accumulated from 2019 to 2021 is 61,829 credit cards, a mechanism used by small companies to finance themselves, just like individuals and households.
More than five years ago, the Honduran Association of Banking Institutions (AIHBA) had anticipated that the regulations on credit cards approved in Congress would have a negative impact on the evolution of the market.
In this sense, he pointed out that similar experiences in El Salvador and Guatemala had affected consumers, companies and the government itself with a low collection of taxes on sales and income.
The banking association had estimated in 2016 that up to 200 thousand users would lose their access to plastic money with the regulations that it was intended to impose and that were finally approved.
Credit cards are the first credit mechanism that individuals and households use to finance their consumption expenses, purchases of household equipment, cars or other products and services.
Likewise, micro and small companies use credit cards as a financing mechanism, which guarantees them access to the banking market, as well as having cheaper financing costs than going to the non-banking market or traditional lenders, in addition to being a mechanism for improve small business sales.
–
