The figures released by the Central Bank, showed that out of the total number of debit and credit card subscribers, only 44,000 were non-residents at the end of the first half of the year.

As revealed by the figures, residents mostly use debit cards, with the majority of the cards they hold or 62.7 percent being debit cards, while 22.2 percent were credit cards.

The usage of ATM machines by citizens is becoming an increasingly popular habit, with total number of ATMs rising to 1,243 machines around Lebanon, up seven percent from the corresponding period last year.

According to the Central Bank, during the period, total ATM withdrawals inside the Lebanese territories were valued at $432 million by residents and at $67 million by non-residents.