From 2004 through 2009, credit card adoption in China has been growing an average of 40% annually, says Euromonitor International.
This rapid increase could soon make China Asia’s “most important card market,” says a 2009 report by McKinsey consulting firm.
Credit cards have grown especially quickly in China’s coastal areas during the past five years, “a clear illustration of the upside potential” of the market, says Emmanuel Pitsilis, a senior partner who heads McKinsey’s financial institutions practice in the greater China region.
The penetration of credit cards is directly related to consumers’ affluence, says Ivy Cheung, a Hong Kong-based executive director for Synovate, a market-research firm. So as Chinese consumers’ spending power grows, so will the size of the card market, she predicts.
via USA Today
