Taiwan’s top credit card spenders’ average payments per card were 28 times that of ordinary consumers and contributed 21.5 percent to total transactions by all cardholders, the National Credit Card Center said yesterday.
Last year, top credit card spenders in the nation paid on average NT$1.44 million (US$44,234) per card, compared with NT$51,000 by ordinary consumers, the center said in a report.
The high-spending group’s average payment per transaction was NT$5,396, which is 4.4 times that of ordinary consumers, it said.
Photo: Lee Chin-hui, Taipei Times
Taiwan’s total credit card spending last year reached a record high of NT$4.18 trillion, even though the nation reported the lowest GDP growth of 1.31 percent in 14 years and headline inflation came in at 2.5 percent, the second highest in 15 years, it said.
A closer study of consumption by top spenders revealed that they are willing to spend on travel, and vehicles and motorcycle-related items, with the average annual card spending on vehicles hitting NT$300,000, 30.8 times that of ordinary spenders, it said.
Meanwhile, people aged 40 to 50 accounted for 32.8 percent of top spenders, but those younger than 30 in the top spender group were crucial for the market as they made 394 transactions on average per card last year, with payments averaging NT$2.039 million per card, the report said.
“The top credit card spenders’ intense consumption frequency and high-value transactions show the specific group’s robust purchasing power and strong reliance on credit cards,” the report said.
As a result, top spenders’ consumption behavior holds significant importance for the market, the center said, adding that both card issuers and merchants need to respond flexibly and continuously innovate to meet the group’s needs.
Top spending cardholders mainly reside in the six special municipalities, with those in Taipei and New Taipei City combined accounting for 45.5 percent of the total, while top spenders in Hsinchu city and county together claimed the largest share among the remaining 16 counties and cities, at more than 7 percent, it added.
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