Interbank

The consumer confidence index increased by 2.4 percent month-on-month in September, after inching up 0.6 percent in August.

The index climbed from 76.4 last month to 78.2 this month, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) showed on Sept. 20.

Any figure above the 100 mark indicates optimism among consumers.

Credit card spending increased by 94 percent in July compared with the same month last year to hit 1.2 trillion Turkish Liras ($35.5 billion), according to data from the Interbank Card Center (BKM).

The annual increase in card spending slowed from 105 percent in June and 111 percent in May.

The Turkish banking regulator has decreed that the threshold for contactless payments will be raised by 100 percent to 1,500 Turkish Liras as of July 1.

Consumer morale declined for the first time since February in June as households' expectations for the general economic outlook and their financial situation deteriorated.

Credit card spending increased by 120 percent in April compared with the same month last year to hit 930.4 billion Turkish Liras ($28.9 billion), according to data from the Interbank Card Center (BKM).

The number of credit cards in use in Türkiye rose by 15 percent year-on-year last month to reach a total of 122.1 million.

Credit card spending increased by 138 percent on an annual basis in March to hit 992 billion Turkish Liras ($30.4 billion), according to data from the Interbank Card Center (BKM).

The number of credit cards in use in Türkiye rose by 17 percent compared to March of last year to a total of 121.4 million.

The number of people with unpaid consumer loans and credit card payments declined by 11.6 percent last year from 2022 to 1.32 million, according to data Encazip compiled.

In 2022, nearly 1.5 million people failed to make consumer loans and credit card payments, according to the numbers of the Turkish Banks Association's (TBB) Risk Center.

Retailer organizations have voiced concern that their businesses would be hugely affected if some harsh measures are introduced to curb credit card spending.

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.

Payments made with credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards stood at 836 billion Turkish Liras ($28.9 billion) in October, rising 122 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Interbank Card Center (BKM).