October 26, 2009
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News: Singapore CC Spending Rises
Singapore's economy has begun to recover as credit card spending increases. According to a report by the Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS) showed that despite the recession, credit card spending was up and has remained fairly steady. The same is not true for other countries including the U.S. where consumers have become less dependent on their credit cards and have made the switch to debit cards. The CBS reported that Singapore citizens spent an average of $43 more in August compared to the same time last year. The total average spending increased nearly one percent to $4,489. This is a significant increase from the reported $10 increase for the month of July where the average spending increased to $4,483 compared to $4,473 a year ago.
The CBS report also indicated that Singapore citizens are doing a better job at paying their bill card bills on-time as the delinquency rate dropped significantly. Credit card accounts that were delinquent 30 days or more decreased to 4.9 percent. The credit card delinquency rate was the lowest it has been since October 2002. The increasing signs of recovery has impacted Singapore's growth rate currently at 2 percent to 2.5 percent contraction up from the 4 percent to 6 percent contraction earlier this year.
William Lim, Executive Director for CBS believes the increased card spending is a sign of both a local and global recovery has begun to take hold. Lim stated that the increased card spending “reflects improving consumer confidence that the economy” and unemployment are in recovery. However, Lim cautioned that the increased could be a result of the efforts of credit card companies' promotions. The Credit Bureau Singapore is Singapore's consumer credit bureau that was only recently established in 2002. The bureau is a joint venture between the Association of Bank in Singapore (ABS) and DBIC Holdings Pte. Ltd in response to a provision in the Banking Act to improve credit risk management in the financial industry.