Many Turks have multiple credit cards: Survey

ISTANBUL

Some four in 10 people in Türkiye have more than one credit card, according to a survey conducted by Areda Piar.

Around 39.6 percent of respondents said they have two or three credit cards, while 7.6 percent stated they have four or more.

According to the survey, only 5.7 percent of consumers have one credit card.

There was a total of 113.9 million credit cards in Türkiye, which has a population of more than 85 million, as of October, up from 96.8 million a year earlier, according to the data from the Interbank Card Center (BKM).

Payments made with credit cards soared 129 percent year-on-year to 683.6 billion Turkish Liras ($23.6 billion).

The number of transactions with credit cards grew 28 percent compared to October 2022 to 799 million.

Around 30 percent of surveyed said they use credit cards “very often,” while 24 percent suggested they use them “sometimes.” Some 14.7 percent said they use their cards “rarely.”

Around 17 percent of surveyed do not have a credit card.

According to the survey, 29.9 percent of those having more than one credit card said they use multiple cards because they exceed credit card limits.

Some 77 percent of respondents see credit cards as a “necessity,” while 15.5 percent said they are accustomed to using cards.

Over 30 percent of the respondents said they pay only the minimum amount due on their credit card bill, while 46.4 percent said they pay the total balance. Some 23 percent pay less than the minimum amount, the survey noted.

Turkish consumers also had more than 186 million debit cards, up from 167 million in October last year and 86 million prepaid cards against 69 million a year ago.