Issued payment cards total 1.8 million as at end-April

Figures released by the Central Bank showed that the number of issued payment cards, debit and credit, totaled 1.8 million as at end-April, up by 6.7 percent year-on-year. Resident cardholders accounted for 97 percent of total cards.

The average monthly card purchases made by residents through domestic POS amounted to $148 million in the first four months of 2012, up by 22 percent y-o-y.

The average monthly cash withdrawals by residents using ATMs reached $468 million in the first four months, up by 5.4 percent y-o-y. Card payments in lira accounted for 14 percent of total payments, while withdrawals in lira represented 68 percent of all withdrawals.