Credit card balance growth eases to 2.1% in July

Monday, 22 September 2025 05:49 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Outstanding credit card balances totalled Rs. 161.3 billion in July 2025, up 2.08% from Rs. 158 billion a year ago, the latest Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) data showed.

Growth declined from the previous month, when outstanding credit card balances amounted to Rs. 160.9 billion in June 2025, up 7.2% from a year ago. Balances on globally accepted cards grew by 1.2% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs. 124.6 billion in July 2025, compared with Rs. 123.1 billion in July 2024. The total number of credit cards in circulation in Sri Lanka increased by 3.35% YoY to 2,088,069 in July 2025, from 2,008,456 a year ago.

Locally accepted credit cards fell by 5.9% YoY to 9,142 in July 2025, compared with 9,722 a year earlier. In contrast, globally accepted credit cards rose by 4% to 2,078,927 in July 2025, from 1,998,684 a year ago.

The trend in credit card balances mirrors broader credit trends. Total private sector borrowings increased by Rs. 201.5 billion in July 2025, resulting in the outstanding amount crossing Rs. 9.5 trillion during the first seven months of the year.

However, the new credit in July was lower than the Rs. 221.5 billion recorded in the previous month.