The Association of Commercial Banks (ABA) in the Dominican Republic says there are 2.5 million credit card holders from Dominican banks. This represents an increase of around 265,000 since last year. The estimated consumption using these credit cards up to November 2013 was RD$160 billion, up 10% compared to last year. ABA says that the increase in credit card use is because of security considerations for consumers who avoid carrying cash. Credit card users financed RD$21 billion using credit cards last year. The average interest rate was 68%.