The amount traded in bank cards through operations at points of sale during the first eight months of the year amounted to 283,062 million pesos, and it is expected that by the end of 2021 this figure will close at 420 billion pesos. Estimates of the Association of Multiple Banks in the Dominican Republic (ABA).
The ABA disclosed that between 2014 and 2020, bank card transactions at points of sale increased by 62%, rising from R$222.6 billion in 2014 to $361.5 billion in 2020.
He determined that with an estimate of $423 billion in 2021, it would represent 90% over the 2014-2021 period, reflecting a pickup in consumption by customers using this payment channel.
In a press release, the ABA reported that from 2014 to 2020, the number of point-of-sale transactions through bank cards from several banks increased by 68.3 million, from 105.5 million in 2014 to eventually 173.7 million. year 2020.
He estimated that the mentioned volume of operations will reach 192.7 million by the end of 2021. He explained that this will mean an increase of 82.7% during the period 2014-2021, an indicator that confirms the increased use of these financial products.
The association pointed out that 96% of the executed transactions correspond to local transactions and the remaining 4% are abroad.
Distribution by card type
The ABA reports that of the total number of active bank cards as of August 2021, 58% correspond to debit cards, 27.6% to credit cards, 12.1% to government support cards and 2.3% to prepaid cards.
He explained that from 2014 to 2020, the number of active debit cards showed an upward trend, but during the first eight months of this year, there was a 6.2% decrease, due to a decrease of 317,884 plastics.
Credit card behavior has been similar, but shows a decrease since 2020 of 186,262 cards, and in the current year 2021 (through August) there is a 5.8% increase (128,181 new cards), according to the ABA.
In the case of government support cards, the entity highlighted that in 2020 there was an increase compared to the previous year of 1,624,249 new cards (317%), due to the measures taken by the Dominican government with programs to support people affected by the Covid-19 epidemic.
ABA highlighted that since 2017, many banks have implemented ‘contactless’ technology on their bank cards, in order to achieve more flexible and secure point-of-sale (POS) transactions in stores, allowing customers to make their payments without having to To a third party to manipulate the said plastic, thus enhancing the safety of the process.
As of August 2021, in the case of debit cards, 23.7% (1,166,175 cards) are already contactless and in the case of credit cards, 32.2% (751,836 cards).
