More than 8.6 million debit or credit cards have been issued in the Dominican Republic. According to the Sistema de Pagos de la República Dominicana (
This represents more than one card for each adult. There are 7.7 million people aged over 15, according to the 2010 Census.
Of the 8.6 million cards in use, 4.8 million are debit cards, 2.5 million credit cards, 241,000 pre-paid and 1.06 million are government-issued welfare cards.
Bankcards have surpassed other methods of payment such as checks. In 2018, 22.3 million checks were issued compared to 167.7 million in credit and debit card transactions.
The increase in credit cards alone has led to an increase in credit. This has increased from RD$15.69 billion in 2008 to RD$53.45 billion in 2018, according to Sipard.
The increase in use is due to convenience and security reasons, access to credit, reward plans, and others.
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El Dia
12 March 2019