Outstanding credit card balances up 7.2% to Rs. 160.9 b in June

Thursday, 21 August 2025 05:31 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Active credit cards up 8% YoY to over 2 m

With consumption steadily picking up with interest rates easing, outstanding credit card balances totalled Rs. 160.9 billion in June 2025, up 7.2% from Rs. 150.1 billion in June 2024, latest data from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) showed.

Of this, balances on globally accepted cards grew by 7.9% to Rs. 124.8 billion, compared with Rs. 115.6 billion in

June 2024.

The total number of credit cards in circulation in Sri Lanka increased by 7.9% year-on-year (YoY) to 2,075,744 in June 2025, from 1,923,503 in June 2024.

Locally accepted credit cards fell by 9.6% to 9,287 in June 2025, compared with 10,275 a year earlier. In contrast, globally accepted credit cards rose by 8% to 2,066,457 in June 2025, from 1,913,228 in June 2024, continuing a trend of stronger growth in international card usage.

Growth in credit card usage and balances came alongside a broader rise in private sector credit, easing interest rates, and a slowdown in Government borrowings.

Total outstanding bank loans to the private sector expanded by 18.6% YoY, reaching Rs. 8.2 trillion in June 2025, from Rs. 6.9 trillion in June 2024. Net credit to the Government rose 5.5% to Rs. 6.6 trillion, from Rs. 6.2 trillion a year earlier.

Meanwhile, interest rates eased. The average weighted lending rate declined to 11.56% in June 2025, from 12.47% in June 2024, while the average weighted fixed deposit rate fell to 8.52% from 9.9% over the same period.