Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz


Credit cards continue to be increasingly popular in Peru.

According to the country's Banking Association (ASBANC), the Andean country's people ran up over 7 billion soles in debt in the first three months of 2008.

When compared to the first three months of 2007, a 27.91 percent increase was registered.

This increase can be seen when compared to the same period last year and when viewing Peruvians spending habits over the past 12 months. It was reported that the use of credit cards in the country had increased for the past twelve months.

Consumers have used credit cards over 25 percent more in the first three months of 2008 than in 2007, while small businesses have used them over 47 percent more this year than last.

According to reports, consumers account for over 82 percent of credit card use in the country, while approximately 15 percent of use is attributed to small companies.

The number of credit card holders has also increased in Peru.

More than 5.3 million credit cards have been issued in the country, over 600,000 more when compared to the first trimester of 2007.

ASBANC reported that the number of credit card holders that were behind on payments had decreased to 3.53 percent in 2008.