The use of the credit card has been consolidated as a means of payment among Mexicans and, despite the high interest rates, this financial product reached a total of 1,627 million operations at the end of November, a growth of 49 % if compared to 2019, prior to the pandemic, showed information from the Association of Banks of Mexico (ABM).
The agency highlighted that the good behavior of credit card users in the country has been reflected in an increase in total customers, in addition to the fact that delinquency continues at 2.6%.
“Currently there is better customer behavior. There is an increasing and better use of the credit card, which is reflected in the amount operated and in the quality of the portfolio that is even favorable against 2021”, said the ABM.
Thus, at the end of November, the amount of transactions carried out with a credit card exceeded 1.5 trillion pesos.
In the opinion of the president of the ABM, Daniel Becker, the credit card is used more and more as a debit card, in a context where the product is one of the most expensive in the financial system.
“The better behavior of the client is also reflected in the fact that more and more people are using their credit card as a means of payment and not as financing. And that is due to a much more responsible consumer card user. We believe that the Credit Bureau is also an important element”, explained Becker.
Among other factors that have driven the growth of credit at a time of high interest rates, the savings accumulated in the banking system as of 2020 stand out, with which an important segment of the population has liquidity and can even access financing instruments. to purchase goods and services.
“What we see now is that credit, credit cards and others such as personal loans and others have begun to grow faster because people are beginning to see which products are best for them, according to the particular circumstance that they are experiencing”, explained the vice president of the ABM, Julio Carranza.
In general terms, the country’s bankers highlighted that, although the interest rate is an important factor in the placement of credit, it also favors the expectation of economic performance, and together with a good performance of user payments, has led to that delinquency in the financial sector remains at a minimum and with no expectation of deterioration.
“I think we have seen a highly responsible Banco de México, always ahead of the curve, and there are even analysts who think that the bank could decouple from the policy of the United States Federal Reserve,” said Becker.
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