Credit card circulation crept up a measly 0.1%

But card transactions edged down.

The number of credit cards in circulation grew to 18.1 million by the end of the first quarter, up 0.1% from the previous quarter and 3.3% from the previous year, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority says.

There were 117 million credit card transactions, down 4.7% quarter-to-quarter and up 6.3% year-on-year, while the value of credit card transactions was $137.3 billion, down 3.3% from the previous quarter but up 8.8% from last year.

The number of debit card transactions in relation to retail sales and bill payments fell 1.4% to 29.3 million, while the total value increased 7% to $65.7 billion in the first quarter.

Compared to the same period last year, the total number rose 2.9%, while the total value grew 5.2%.