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2/12/08

www.bbj.hu :EU - Credit card use on the rise in CEE


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EU - Credit card use on the rise in CEE

A report reveals that the number of credit cards in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) more than tripled in the two year period up to the end of 2006. Credit card holders in CEE numbered 27 million in 2006. The total number of payment cards (including debit, charge and credit cards) has grown by 64% to 187 million in 2004-2006.

According to the report, debit cards are the most widely held type of payment card in the region, representing 83% of all cards in issue against 52% in Western Europe. However, debit cards share of the market has decreased from 90% in 2004 to 83% by the end of 2006. This was caused by the increase in credit card, which more than tripled between 2004 and 2006, reaching 15% of total cards in the region. In all 13 markets, the number of credit cards grew from 8 million to 27 million between 2004 and 2006.

Poland, Russia and the Ukraine account for about two thirds of these cards and for much of the new growth over this period. The report says there are on average 74 payment cards per 100 adults in CEE, compared to 203 in Western Europe.

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